'It’s a free country' — but some White House staffers are facing these new rules: report

White House staffers in the Office of Legislative Affairs under President Donald Trump's administration are facing a few new rules, according to Politico's Daniel Lippman.

Lippman reports via X that "Trump WH legislative affairs staffers and others in external-facing roles have been strongly discouraged from drinking w/ members of Congress, 2 people familiar w/ the matter told @SophiaCai99 and me."

He adds, "The guidelines are a departure from past admins."

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One person told Politico, "We strongly urged everyone in the legislative affairs office and everyone who’s externally facing to be thoughtful about their alcohol use in public, and specifically with members."

Additionally, "We strongly discouraged drinking with members," the person familiar with the matter added.

"It’s a free country, but we represent the White House and the president and that’s best done sober," they emphasized.

"Is one drink a fireable offense? We’ll have to see what happens," the person continued, Politico reports, "in an implicit acknowledgement of the reality that Washington is a town that runs on relationships formed during boozy social functions."

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Politico notes, "The president is a non-drinker whose beverage of choice is a Diet Coke, which he imbibes freely. Trump also lost his brother Fred Trump Jr. to alcoholism, a tragedy which Trump says became a driving force behind his first administration’s war on the opioid crisis."