President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE offered pens to members of the media on Friday after signing the Republican tax bill into law.

Traditionally the pens are given to lawmakers who helped work on a bill, but Trump signed the legislation after they had all left Washington for the holidays.

“I have some beautiful pens over here and because all of these folks are either continuing to work down the road or getting ready to leave, and I’m sure they’ll be working very hard also, I think I’m probably going to hand some of them to the press,” Trump said.

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“We have them, many of you have worked very hard, many of you have worked very, very fairly, and we really appreciate that,” he said. “So here you go folks.”

"I particularly like the boomholders and the cameramen," Trump added.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn also helped hand out the pens, according to a pool report.

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the media since the days of his campaign, often referring to the press as “fake news.”

He praised the press just hours after attacking the “fake mainstream media” on Twitter.

“The President has accomplished some absolutely historic things during this past year.” Thank you Charlie Kirk of Turning Points USA. Sadly, the Fake Mainstream Media will NEVER talk about our accomplishments in their end of year reviews. We are compiling a long & beautiful list. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2017

Trump said he was motivated to hold the surprise signing ceremony early after watching the news that morning.

“I watched the news this morning and they were all saying, ‘Will he keep his promise? Will he sign it by Christmas?' " Trump said.

“I called downstairs, I said, ‘Get it ready, we have to sign it now,’ " he said.

Trump held an event with lawmakers on Wednesday to celebrate passage of the tax bill.