White House shifts control over press pool amid controversy
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that she will now determine the composition of the presidential press pool, which includes media representatives who cover the president's activities. Until now, the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) has made this selection.
This decision has been criticized, with the WHCA accusing the administration of undermining press independence. During a press briefing, Leavitt stated, "It’s beyond time that the White House press operation reflects the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925. "
The change aims to permit reporters from newer media outlets to attend White House events, which were previously restricted to a "small group of Washington journalists."
The WHCA, which has set the pool's composition for decades, condemned the decision as an attack on press freedom. "This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States," WHCA President Eugene Daniels said in a statement.
Journalists criticize new policy
Other journalists, including Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, criticized the decision, remarking that "this move does not give the power back to the people - it gives power to the White House." Heinrich also compared the decision to Kremlin policies despite similar practices in other countries.
The change followed the Associated Press's exclusion from the pool for refusing to use the new name for the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed the American Gulf. The AP sued the White House, but a federal judge did not agree to block the administration's decision temporarily. The White House declared this a victory, emphasizing that participation in the pool is a privilege, not a right.
Read also:
