The White House blocked reporters from Reuters and other news organisations from attending President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting. This decision follows the administration's new policy on media coverage. An Associated Press photographer and three reporters—from Reuters, HuffPost, and the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel—were denied entry. However, TV crews from ABC and Newsmax, along with journalists from Axios, The Blaze, Bloomberg News, and NPR, were allowed to cover the event. A day earlier, the Trump administration announced that it would decide which media outlets could report from smaller spaces like the Oval Office. The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) has traditionally managed the rotation of reporters covering the president. Reuters, a well-known international news agency, has been part of this system for many years.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that while traditional media outlets will still be allowed to report on Trump's daily activities, the administration plans to change who gets access to smaller events. The WHCA's pool system has allowed selected television, radio, wire service, print, and photojournalists to attend events and share their coverage with the wider press. On Wednesday, the three major wire services—AP, Bloomberg, and Reuters—released a statement responding to the new policy. The services "have long worked to ensure that accurate, fair and timely information about the presidency is communicated to a broad audience of all political persuasions, both in the United States and globally. Much of the White House coverage people see in their local news outlets, wherever they are in the world, comes from the wires," the statement from the three organisations said. "It is essential in a democracy for the public to have access to news about their government from an independent, free press."

HuffPost criticised the White House's decision, calling it a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of the press. Der Tagesspiegel did not respond right away when asked for a comment. On Tuesday, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) also released a statement opposing the new White House policy. This decision comes after the Trump administration barred the Associated Press from the press pool because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," as Trump had renamed it, or update its style guide accordingly. Leavitt explained that the five major cable and broadcast TV networks would still have rotating seats in the press pool. The White House would also include streaming services. Print and radio reporters would continue rotating, while new outlets and radio hosts would also be added.

However, President Donald Trump convened the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, where notable attendees included Elon Musk, who leads the administration's Department of Government Efficiency despite not being a Cabinet member. During the meeting, Trump endorsed Musk's proposal requiring all federal employees to submit an email detailing their accomplishments from the previous week or face termination.

In a related move, the administration directed federal agencies to develop plans within the coming weeks for workforce reductions and structural reorganisation. Additionally, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are nearing a final agreement in which Ukraine would supply rare earth minerals to the U.S. in exchange for security assurances. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case filed by a straight woman from Ohio who alleges reverse discrimination. The justices appeared inclined to allow her lawsuit to proceed.