The White House on Wednesday denied access to reporters from Reuters, the Associated Press, and other news organizations for President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting, implementing a new media policy that changes traditional press coverage rules.
An AP photographer and journalists from Reuters, HuffPost, and the German newspaper *Der Tagesspiegel* were blocked from attending. However, TV crews from ABC and Newsmax, along with correspondents from Axios, The Blaze, Bloomberg News, and NPR, were granted access.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that the White House would determine which media outlets could cover the president in smaller settings, such as the Oval Office. Previously, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) coordinated the presidential press pool, which included Reuters as a long-time participant.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while traditional media organizations would still have daily access to Trump, the administration planned to change who could participate in smaller press events. The WHCA-administered press pool had historically included select television, radio, wire, print, and photojournalists who shared reports with the broader media.
The Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Reuters, which have traditionally been permanent members of the White House press pool, issued a joint statement criticizing the policy shift.
“These services have long worked to ensure that accurate, fair, and timely information about the presidency reaches a broad audience of all political persuasions, both in the United States and globally,” the statement said. “Much of the White House coverage people see in their local news outlets, wherever they are in the world, comes from the wires. It is essential in a democracy for the public to have access to news about their government from an independent, free press.”
HuffPost labeled the decision a violation of the First Amendment’s press freedom protections. *Der Tagesspiegel* did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The WHCA also released a statement on Tuesday opposing the policy. The move follows the Trump administration’s decision to remove the Associated Press from the press pool due to AP’s refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico,” a name Trump has promoted.
Leavitt said major cable and broadcast television networks would retain their rotating press pool seats, while the White House would expand access to streaming services. Print and radio reporters would continue to rotate, with additional outlets and radio hosts added.
