The White House has announced that it will now manage which news organizations and journalists are granted access to the presidential press pool covering Donald Trump. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press team will determine who gets access to restricted spaces like Air Force One and the Oval Office.

This announcement follows a recent temporary ruling that allowed the Trump administration to bar the Associated Press (AP) for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”, as Trump had demanded. The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which coordinates access to the president for journalists, traditionally decides which members of the media are included in the press pool.

Leavitt argued that the WHCA should no longer have exclusive control over press access, stating that while legacy media outlets will still participate, “new voices” will be welcomed as well. However, the AP argued that banning its journalists due to language used in reporting violates the First Amendment.

This move has been criticized by the WHCA and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who see it as a threat to press freedom and public access to information about the government.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/25/white-house-press-pool