The Trump White House is breaking apart the long-standing control that legacy media outlets have held over presidential press access. In a move that shifts power away from the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), the administration will now directly decide which outlets are included in high-profile press pools.
For decades, the WHCA — a club dominated by establishment media — has controlled who gets access to the president in exclusive settings like Air Force One and the Oval Office. That monopoly is now over. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that the administration will take over the selection process to ensure a wider range of perspectives are represented.
A group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States.
Not anymore.
Today, I was proud to announce that we are giving the power back to the people.
Moving… pic.twitter.com/PkNui6Qleu
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 25, 2025
Members of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) erupt into laughter when asked about far left wing violent attacks on Trump supporters.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 25, 2025
The announcement follows a legal victory over the Associated Press, which attempted to sue the administration after its reporters were denied special access for refusing to acknowledge the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. A federal judge ruled in favor of the White House, reaffirming its authority to determine press access.
Here's why this is earth-shattering news: Former White House Correspondent @ChanelRion did a video exposing how the WHCA illegally infiltrated the White House and operates like a criminal cartel.pic.twitter.com/C8U5nSftOF
— George (@BehizyTweets) February 25, 2025
Leavitt made it clear that this move is not about blocking media access, but rather about expanding it. “Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join,” she said, “but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”
Membership in the White House Correspondents Assoc is determined by a 9 member board from:
MSNBC, CBS, Politico, Bloomberg News, Getty, Fox, Reuters, BBC, and ABC News.
The approval process is closed door & entirely secretive.
The Trump WH is right to break up the cartel.
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) February 25, 2025
Major television networks will still have a presence in the press pool, but new streaming services and alternative media will now be included. This shift reflects the administration’s goal of ensuring that the White House press corps is not controlled by a single ideological group.
This is the President of the "non-partisan" White House Correspondents Association. Always nice to grab a manicure before going on MSNBC to bash Trump. pic.twitter.com/PyQlRh1IH0
— MAZE (@mazemoore) February 26, 2025
The WHCA, unsurprisingly, is framing this as a power grab, with its president, Eugene Daniels, accusing the White House of trying to control media coverage. However, the administration argues that breaking up the legacy media’s dominance will allow more Americans to hear from a broader range of voices, rather than just those of entrenched Washington journalists.
