The White House announced Tuesday that the Trump administration will be determining who has access to President Donald Trump going forward.
According to Politico, White House coverage is generally carried out by independent journalists, who are part of a pool that is allowed into the Oval Office, onboard Air Force One, and other meetings that don’t accommodate a full press corp.
The Trump administration made the decision on the heels of a temporary ruling that allows the administration to bar the Associated Press from pooled events, from what Politico says is due to the AP refusing to use the Gulf of Mexico’s new name, the Gulf of America.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House Correspondents’ Association “should no longer have a monopoly” on the organization of press pools and that the White House will decide who can participate. The WHCA oversees the rotations of print, radio, and television correspondents, while a smaller 13-member group is allowed access in smaller settings.
“All journalists, outlets and voices deserve a seat at this highly coveted table,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said rotations would continue as is, but alternate representatives from other news outlets would be allowed into the daily journalist pool. She added that the Trump administration plans to add more reporters “who are well suited to cover the news of the day.”
Politico further reported the White House has been filling the press pool with conservative influencers and Trump-friendly outlets, creating a new “social media seat” which is reserved for journalists that do not have a designated seat which is filled on a day-to-day basis without consulting the WHCA.
White House Correspondents’ Association president Eugene Daniels, said in a statement that Trump’s move “tears at the independence of a free press.”
“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,” Daniels said. “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.”
Daniels noted that the WHCA has done its rotations for over 100 years to “ensure consistent professional standards” and added that the WHCA was not given a “heads up” by the Trump administration.
“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,” Daniels said.
He added: “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.”
