The White House announced on the 25th (local time) that it would exercise its authority to form a pool of reporters covering President Donald Trump. Until now, the White House Correspondents' Association has organized the pool. The pool represents all media when close coverage is difficult in spaces with restrictions such as the Oval Office, the U.S. President's working office, and Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, due to spatial limitations and security issues. However, as the White House moved to form a pool, media outlets across the political spectrum, both conservative and progressive, have expressed opposition.
According to the Associated Press, White House Spokesperson Caroline Levitt said in a briefing on the 25th, "The pool will be determined by the White House communications team in this administration." She continued, "Certain groups of journalists in Washington, D.C., should not monopolize access to the White House. It is time for the White House's coverage methods to reflect the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925," referring to the change as the "modernization of the pool." However, media experts argue that allowing the president to choose who covers him violates the First Amendment.
The pool was established during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. It was created to select a few reporters among hundreds of White House correspondents to be present when the president is speaking while traveling or at the White House. At that time, the Eisenhower administration and media outlets agreed to create a pool of small numbers of reporters, cameramen, and photographers. However, the White House Correspondents' Association, which was founded in 1914, was to decide which reporters would be included in the pool. The composition of the pool has changed over time. Currently, it consists of three wire service journalists, two print or online journalists, one radio journalist, four photojournalists, and a television crew that includes producers, audio technicians, and cameramen.
Until now, the pool has operated on a rotation system, regardless of the political leanings of the media outlets. However, since Trump's inauguration, there has been a clear intention to provide a favorable environment for conservative media in the White House communications team's decisions. Trump banned the access of an Associated Press journalist, the world's largest news agency, who insisted on using the term 'Gulf of Mexico' instead of following an executive order to change it to 'Gulf of America.' Furthermore, the Trump administration announced on the 26th that staff from the conservative-leaning network Newsmax and Axios would participate in the White House pool but excluded the Associated Press and Reuters.
According to The New York Times (NYT), the White House has not specifically disclosed which media outlets will be included in the pool. However, Spokesperson Levitt noted that she wants to increase accessibility for podcasters and social media influencers. NYT reported, "Trump is scheduled to visit Florida over the weekend, but it remains unclear which media will accompany him."
In response, the editors of the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, and Reuters issued a statement saying, "It is essential for the public to have access to news about the government through independent and free press in a democracy," and stated, "We believe that any action to limit the number of news agencies that can access the president threatens that principle."