By Anne Steele and Annie Linskey

The White House will determine which news organizations and reporters can be part of the press "pool" that rotates access to President Trump in small settings, taking control from a nonpartisan media group that currently oversees the assignments.

"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 Tuesday. Members of the pool are within the president's protective bubble and travel in his motorcade, attend some events held in small spaces such as the Cabinet Room and have opportunities to ask questions in more intimate settings.

Currently, the White House Correspondents' Association, made up of members of the media, controls which outlets can travel with the president and have access to small events. Founded in 1914, the WHCA pushes for expanded access to the president and oversees a system of competing outlets sharing resources to cover events.

The White House press pool currently includes a complicated rotation of reporters and photographers from print, newswires, radio and television outlets, a system in which The Wall Street Journal participates. Under the current setup, pool members take turns covering small events and share the notes with other news organizations -- a method intended to give outlets equal access to the information. Reporters have been traveling with presidents, including on vacations and foreign trips, since Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, according to the WHCA website.

The move reflects the Trump administration's more-skeptical attitude toward traditional media outlets. Soon after the inauguration, Leavitt announced the creation of a "new media" seat in the White House press briefing room, inviting podcasters and social-media influencers to apply for the rotating spot. Meanwhile, the Defense Department removed dedicated Pentagon office space for eight outlets, including the New York Times, NBC News, NPR, CNN and Politico. They are being replaced by outlets including the New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network, HuffPost News and the Daily Caller, as part of an annual rotation.

Leavitt said Tuesday that she plans to add outlets to the White House pool and will continue to permit what she referred to as "legacy media" to participate in the rotation, including a print reporter and a radio reporter. The major TV networks will continue to have access to the president, she said, and the White House will add some new streaming services and new media outlets to the group.

"This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States," Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said in response to Leavitt's announcement. "In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps." He said the White House didn't give the group advance notice of the decision.

Participation in the pool is expensive -- particularly when the president is out of Washington. Individual outlets must commit personnel to participate, and shoulder costs for hotels, meals and travel, including when flying aboard Air Force One. Outlets also must cover costs when travel is canceled or altered, a frequent occurrence.

The Trump administration barred the Associated Press from the pool earlier this month, after the outlet refused to change its style guidance on the Gulf of Mexico, which the administration renamed the Gulf of America.

The AP has since asked a federal judge to restore its access to the press pool, alleging in a lawsuit that the administration's actions violate the First Amendment.

In a statement Friday, the administration called the AP's suit frivolous. "They are clearly suffering from a severe, debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted their peanut-sized brains, " said White House spokesman Steven Cheung. "We will defeat them in court just like we crushed their leftist reporters at the ballot box."

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday about how new outlets would be selected for the pool, whether the size of the pool would change and whether other outlets may be blocked from participating.

This presidential election cycle cemented the rise of new media formats and personalities -- led by podcasters, YouTubers and Tiktokers. They have taken ground from legacy outlets, including TV networks and newspapers, in both audience and access to top officials and candidates.

Trump has made dozens of appearances across the "manosphere," shows that appeal to young, male audiences and that often don't have an overt political focus, like "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von," "Full Send Podcast," and "Bussin' With the Boys." Shortly before the election, he sat for over three hours with Joe Rogan, who then endorsed him for president. The episode has been viewed over 55 million times on YouTube.

Write to Anne Steele at anne.steele@wsj.com and Annie Linskey at annie.linskey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2025 15:08 ET (20:08 GMT)

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