Fox News’ Ed Henry Wins White House Correspondents Association Award

Jon Levine

The White House Correspondents Association will honor Fox News reporter Ed Henry with its Merriman Smith Award for broadcast. The honor was given in recognition of Henry’s tough interview with former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt last April.

“EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was already in trouble over ethical matters when he sat down for an interview with Fox News White House Correspondent Ed Henry,” the judges said in an announcement. “If he thought he was going to get softball questions, he soon learned otherwise. Henry, in the words of the Washington Post, lobbed question after question at Pruitt to ask him about big pay increases for cronies and a sweetheart deal for renting an apartment from a lobbyist.”

“Pruitt struggled to answer and soon found himself out of a job,” they continued. “Henry was prepared, knew his facts and marshaled them for a penetrating interview, which made news, all under deadline pressure.”

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In a tweet, Henry thanked the White House Correspondents Association for the honor and gave a shoutout to his producer, NuNu Japaridze.

“Thank you to family, friends & @FoxNews colleagues — esp producer Nunu Japaridze #merrimansmith @whca,” he said.

The network notably beat out CNN for the honor, with judges instead giving them an “honorable mention” for its coverage of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing.

“CNN’s coverage on the day of the hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was aggressive, relied on deep sourcing and felt like one was watching a symphony,” the judges said. “The news-making moments in which Sen. Jeff Flake, R-AZ, was confronted by two women was just a piece of the extensive coverage that followed every angle, all day.”

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In addition to Fox News, The Atlantic, Reuters and the Washington Post will all also take home awards for their coverage

The annual Washington tradition is set for April 27, 2019. The organization will not feature its typical standup comedian and instead, dinner attendees will enjoy remarks from historian Ron Chernow about the importance of the First Amendment.

Though many of the night’s memorable moments historically come from the president of the United States, Donald Trump has not attended the event since he became president. It remains unclear if he will show up.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.

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