Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the White House Correspondents Association and a handful of media outlets will no longer have a monopoly over coverage of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and in other limited spaces within the administration.
"For decades a group of DC based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore," Leavitt said. "All journalists, outlets and voices deserve a seat at this highly coveted table."
"We are going to give the power back to the people," she continued.
.@PressSec Karoline Leavitt: "For decades a group of DC based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore." pic.twitter.com/B4vbNmklyH
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 25, 2025
The move comes less than 24 hours after the White House won a legal fight against the Associated Press, which was kicked out of the press pool -- a small group of reporters covering events -- two weeks ago.
“As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right. We stand by our decision to hold the Fake News accountable for their lies, and President Trump will continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press. This is the most transparent Administration in history," the White House released in a statement Monday.
The White House Correspondents Association has issued a statement in response to the changes.
"This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps," the WHCA released in a statement. "For generations, the working journalists elected to lead the White House Correspondents’ Association board have consistently expanded the WHCA’s membership and its pool rotations to facilitate the inclusion of new and emerging outlets. Since its founding in 1914, the WHCA has sought to ensure that the reporters, photographers, producers and technicians who actually do the work – 365 days of every year – decide amongst themselves how these rotations are operated, so as to ensure consistent professional standards and fairness in access on behalf of all readers, viewers and listeners."
"To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA board a heads up or have any discussions about today’s announcements. But the WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor," the statement continues.
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