Sen. Mark Warner and committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr speak to the media following testimony by former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, 2017. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The scrum of reporters that has descended on Capitol Hill to cover the goings-on of the Trump Era has grown so large that it merited its own Washington Post Style story (headline: “Inside the heaving, jostling Capitol media mob). A dictate issued by the Senate Rule Committee this morning promised to thin the herd.

Journalists on the Hill reported today that they had been instructed that all on-camera interviews in the hallways of the Capitol now have to be pre-approved by both the senator and the rules committee.

NEW: The Sen Rules Cmte now wants us to request approval from them for EVERY on-cam interview of a Senator in the hallway we want to conduct

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 13, 2017

Rules Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said that there has been “no changes to the existing rules governing press coverage” in a statement, repeating that there are “no additional restrictions.” In an interview with reporters this afternoon, Selby said the change in access was a miscommunication.

Shelby told hallway reporters access changes were miscommunication. Said he told rules staff “what the heck?'”

— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) June 13, 2017

Rules requiring prior permission for filming in the Capitol haven’t been enforced, and impromptu hallway interviews are a staple of Hill reporting. The restrictions were being enforced this morning, though. NBC and other outlets reported that they were told to evacuate the halls while waiting to get reactions from senators after several hearings.

Safety has become a new concern in the once relatively staid halls of Congress, as Trump-era reporters jam the corridors seeking comment. Last month, the directors of the Senate Media Galleries sent a letter to bureau chiefs saying the Capitol is at capacity with reporters. “Collectively, the press following Senators have become large and aggressive. We are concerned someone may get hurt.”

The Post quoted one reporter saying, “We are one tripped senator away from losing our access.” It seems it didn’t actually take an accident.

“Preventing the press from informing the public about the workings of their own government goes against the core values of our democracy. For decades, the Capitol building has been open for recorded interviews, which provide a critical window into the legislative process,” said American Civil Liberties Union Political Director Faiz Shakir.

Some came to the defense of the restrictions, with arguments that would be comical if we weren’t talking about a bedrock of U.S. democracy.

A number of senators quickly spoke out, mostly from the side of the aisle that is not reportedly drafting a healthcare bill in secret.

“This was just some arbitrary enforcement of a rule that was against common practice on the very day that Attorney General Sessions was set to testify,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn), the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee. “Not a day you want to cut off the public’s access.”

This post has been updated