White House to decide which news outlets cover Trump, breaking press tradition

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will determine which news outlets have access to cover the president, marking a major shift in how White House press coverage has traditionally operated.

White House takes control of press access

The backstory:

For decades, a rotating press pool—organized by independent news organizations—has covered the president, ensuring a wide range of media outlets have access to report on White House activities. 

The administration’s new policy will instead allow White House officials to select which outlets receive access, including for events inside the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One.

"The White House press team, in this administration, will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing. 

She added that the change would allow for a broader mix of media, including streaming platforms, and restore "access back to the American people" who elected Trump.

The administration also confirmed it will continue to bar The Associated Press from certain presidential events, escalating tensions with the news organization, which is currently suing the White House over press access.

First Amendment concerns

The other side:

The policy shift has drawn sharp criticism from media rights organizations and legal experts, who argue that allowing the government to handpick which journalists cover the president could threaten press freedom.

"This is a dangerous move for democracy," Jon Marshall, a professor of media history at Northwestern University told the Associated Press.

"It means the president can pick and choose who covers the executive branch, ignoring the fact that it is the American people who through their taxes pay for the running of the White House."

Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, also pushed back against the decision, saying it "tears at the independence of a free press in the United States."

"In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps," Daniels said in a statement.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press echoed those concerns, calling it "a drastic change in how the public obtains information about its government."

"The White House press pool exists to serve the public, not the presidency," said Bruce D. Brown, the group’s president.

Legal battle over press access

The announcement comes as the White House battles a lawsuit filed by The Associated Press over press access. 

The AP sued Leavitt and other officials after the administration barred its reporters from covering some presidential events due to the outlet’s refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," as Trump has ordered.

The case is ongoing, and while a federal judge declined to immediately reinstate AP’s access, he noted that case law "is uniformly unhelpful to the White House," signaling potential legal trouble ahead for the administration’s press policy.

Trump defended the decision to control media access, telling reporters, "We’re going to be now calling those shots."

What's next:

The administration has not yet released details on how the selection process will work or which outlets will be included in the new press rotation. 

Meanwhile, media organizations and legal experts are expected to continue challenging the move, arguing it could set a dangerous precedent for government-controlled press access.