As of 5:15 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, CNN is blocking the White House pool reporter from being able to monitor this evening’s presidential debate from inside the actual debate hall. CNN’s decision is extremely strange.

The White House Correspondents’ Association, representing journalists who cover the White House beat, has made repeated requests in recent days that its pool reporter be allowed into the debate hall in Atlanta, Georgia. Having had no luck, the WHCA issued a public statement on Thursday expressing it is “deeply concerned that CNN has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio.”