i will see you guys tomorrow. we will talk about the tax plan. thanks. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> the annual white house correspondents dinner is this saturday. for the first time in recent history, the president has decided not to attend. this year's entertainer will be senior correspondent at "the daily show," hasan minhaj. let's take a look at what we can expect. >> jeff mason, white house correspondent for reuters and president of the white house correspondents association, you've seen the end of one

administration, the start of a new administration. what have been the biggest challenges? mr. mason: the correspondents association is the main interlocutor between the press corps in the white house. we served that role at the end of the obama administration and started with the new trump administration. the biggest challenges have been that adjustment. a new administration comes in with new priorities, with less experience dealing with the press, and new ideas. we've had to talk to them about the needs of the press corps, and we've had some significant tensions. that is not a surprise. we also developed a working relationship with the press team. i think that has led to some successes. there were certainly some battles i didn't expect to fight. for example the idea of the press moving out of the press room was floated at the beginning of the trump administration. we had a discussion and we are still there. >> let me ask you about the

briefings and the debriefing room. between the midway west wing and the white house itself. why is it so important to be in that location? mr. mason: it is critical just to be present for when things happen here at the white house, when the president decides to speak to the press. if the president has a meeting with a foreign leader, we are there. if there is something last-minute, where they need the press to come and see something, we are right there. being at the white house shows the transparency that is protected by the constitution, by the first amendment. coming through the gates of the white house everyday to report on the administration, to shed light on the administration, are all things that are protected by the first amendment, and the best way to fulfill those responsibilities is to be in the press room. >> tensions between the press and the president, not new. is it any different with this

president? mr. mason: you are right to say there's been tension for decades , for longer than that. that is part of the relationship. it is hard to compare this to lots of other administrations. i would say that the tension has been high. that is certainly part of, or partially driven, by the fact that president trump has said in some of his tweets and public remarks am a very critical things about the media. but it is our job to continue doing our job regardless of the criticism from the president. despite some of that not insignificant tension, we have worked hard to develop a good working relationship with his team. wille of those tweets, i not be attending the white house correspondents association dinner, from president trump. did that surprise you? mr. mason: it did in so far as we didn't have a warning that tweet was coming.

i certainly knew it was a possibility that the president would decide not to come, but we had not had discussions about it. the most discussion i had with sean spicer about it was to tell him the date of the dinner, and the president is invited to the dinner and would have been welcome. that was his decision not to come. he can speak for himself about the signal he wants to send. we will have the dinner and that is why we are talking today. >> c-span will be covering the dinner. why do you think he decided not to show up? mr. mason: the reason his people have given was the relationship between the press and the white house. i think they feel that his coverage has not been to their liking. i would argue that there are presidents dating back probably to george washington who don't think their coverage has been to their liking, and that is just part of the gig when you are the president of the united states. i understand there are

criticisms and it is fair to ask reporters and correspondence to correct mistakes, but it is our critical coverage of the white house and the president and that is what we do. i think it is too bad that the president decided not to come for whatever reason, but as i said, we're going to have the dinner, andhe we're going to highlight the first amendment. >> the bigger issue is not the president skipping the dinner, but members of the president's cabinet, the white house staff, he called that unprecedented. mr. mason: i think it is unprecedented and unfortunate. the signal they decide to send with that is only one they can speak to. i think it sends a signal that is unfortunate to the american people. as i said before, we have worked really hard to develop a constructive relationship with this white house and that is something we could have

showcased if they had come. but it is up to them to make that decision. it is up to us to continue doing our job, and we will do that, and we will do that at the dimmer as well. >> how did it all come together, and explain how you were able to get the headliner. mr. mason: it is a big production to get that many people in the room and to have the entertainment planned. i've certainly had a lot of support for that. it's a privilege, but also a lot of work. as i was looking for a headliner, i was looking for somebody who could bring that entertainment value to the dinner that we like. i want people to enjoy themselves, and having a little bit of comedy has become part of the dinner. i was also looking for somebody who was not going to roast the president in absentia. i think with hasan minhaj from "the daily show," i found somebody who is going to do that

well. >> you also want to focus on the first amendment. how will you do that? mr. mason: there are a few different things. there will be a big banner on the stage. we will be talking about it in our video production. we will be talking about it in our remarks on the stage. i think hasan will mention it as well. i'm happy to say that bob woodward and carl bernstein will be there. their work for the "washington post" or in the watergate era is a shining example of the importance of good journalism. >> finally, this is the start of a new administration. presumably at least three more dinners with president trump. how does the association move ahead in coming years? mr. mason: that will be up to my predecessors in this role to help navigate. i think what we want to do is send a signal that the president is welcome at our dinner. his staff is welcome at our dinner.

it is possible, even when there is tension, to have a good and constructive working relationship with staff and with the president himself. that is something we care that is something we care about and are working towards. as we would regardless of who is president of the united states. that is what we will continue to do in the years to come. >> thank you. >> my pleasure. >> watch our live coverage of the dinner at 8:30 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at www.c-span.org and streaming on the c-span radio app. friday at midnight the short-term spending measure funding the government expires. on "washington journal" we got an update where negotiations stand to avoid a government shutdown. washington journal continues. host: our guest is maya

mcguiness. is maya macguineas. guest: we do want to avoid a government shutdown. thatis always a reflection we are failing to govern. it'll think we will have a shutdown. the goal of the parties involved understand it is in nobody's best interest. they think politically but it certainly isn't in the country's best interest. the issues they are working through our resolvable. this isn't the budget for the full year. it is just the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. as soon as this gets out, they will come up with the budget resolution so i think they do want to get this figured out and then move on to the big picture governing. that will help us figure out the blueprint of where we are going. there's a lot of talk about

whether we will shut down or not and it is possible. i do think that the skirmishes -- it isn't a big enough word for how serious this is -- it reflects the brokenness in washington, and we have two parties constantly fighting in set of doing basic pieces of government -- passing a budget for the country. and getting to work on the policies. so it is a troubling time in washington and it is one of the many speed bumps. what i think we will get through this with that a problem. host: was the last time we actually have the appropriations bill? guest: it has been years since he went through the normal process. a process laid out with the president puts forth the budget and congress takes it up or starts fresh and comes up with a budget. the house and senate reconcile differences and then they pass the appropriations bill but we don't get it done anymore. the process is broken. once we think about it,