The White House is irritated at a Fox News reporter's persistent coverage of the immigration crisis at the southern border, according to a Politico report.
Several current and former White House officials told Politico they're frustrated with Fox News reporter Bill Melugin's coverage of the record-breaking numbers of migrants crossing the border. Melugin has been a constant presence on Fox News this year, pairing on-the-ground coverage with aerial drone footage to demonstrate the scale of migrant crossings.
White House officials' irritation at Melugin's coverage, which they say is alarmist and lacking nuance, comes as immigration is one of President Joe Biden's weakest issues going into the 2024 midterm elections. More than half of Americans believe the United States is seeing an "invasion" at the southern border, according to an NPR poll last month.
Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre vented that Fox News got the scoop—via Melugin's reporting—that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R.) planned to bus migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris's house in Washington, D.C.
"The fact that Fox News—and not the Department of Homeland Security, the city, or local NGOs—were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children, on the side of a busy D.C. street makes clear that this is just a cruel, premeditated political stunt," Jean-Pierre said.
Fox News has clashed with the Biden administration before for its border coverage. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned the network from flying drones over migrants being processed into the country.