After losing a court case about giving The Associated Press (AP) access to the presidency, the White House on Tuesday introduced a new media policy that greatly limits Donald Trump’s availability to news agencies that provide stories to media outlets worldwide.

This was the latest effort by the new administration to control how its actions are reported. Under the new rules, the AP and other wire services—used by thousands of news outlets to reach billions of readers—would be blocked. This comes after a judge ruled that the White House violated the AP’s free speech rights by banning it simply because the agency refused to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The White House is working on a new policy for how reporters can cover small spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One. As part of the plan, press secretary Karoline Leavitt will have the final say on which reporters are allowed to ask the President questions, according to people familiar with the details. When asked for a comment on Tuesday evening, the White House did not respond.

Last week, a federal judge ruled that the White House acted unfairly by blocking the Associated Press (AP) from covering events just because it wouldn’t rename the Gulf of Mexico. Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered the White House to treat AP the same as other news outlets. The White House has introduced a new policy regarding access to the president for questions. After ignoring McFadden's ruling and continuing the AP's ban when President Trump met with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office, the White House shared this new policy with select journalists. For years, the White House Correspondents Association has managed the pool for these limited events, always including reporters from the major wire services—AP, Reuters and Bloomberg. In addition, one print reporter was chosen on a rotating basis from over 30 news outlets.

Under the new policy, the White House will combine the three wire services with the print reporters, meaning around three dozen reporters will rotate for two regular slots. Wire services typically provide stories that are shared across the country and internationally. The White House announced that even with the new rotation system, Trump's press secretary will still have the final say in deciding who is part of the press pool. The new policy also states that reporters will be allowed access regardless of the viewpoints expressed by their media outlet. In a statement, Lauren Easton from the AP expressed disappointment, saying that instead of restoring the AP's access, the White House opted to impose restrictions on all wire services. 

According to AP spokesperson Easton, the wire services represent thousands of news organisations in the United States and throughout the world. "Our coverage is used by local newspapers and television stations in all 50 states to inform their communities." Easton said Tuesday night that the administration keeps ignoring the basic American right to speak freely without interference or punishment from the government. The independent White House Correspondents' Association said that the administration's desire to control who reports on the president shows it isn’t ready to promise that it will stop favouring or rejecting certain viewpoints. "The government should not be able to control the independent media that covers it," said Eugene Daniels, the association's president.

Under Leavitt, the White House has allowed more access to media outlets that support Trump. This was clear on Tuesday when the first reporter, Leavitt called on during a briefing asked two questions and also praised Trump’s policies. During a meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump got irritated when CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked him about a man who was deported and ended up in a prison in El Salvador. At one point, he accused CNN of hating the country. He also pointed out how her questions were much tougher than a softer one asked by another reporter.

Even with some tense moments like this, Trump has been more open to talking with the media than former President Joe Biden. He especially likes speaking at events held in small spaces like the Oval Office, which makes the recent changes in media access even more important. However, the new policy introduced on Tuesday didn’t mention anything about access for photographers. In a previous court hearing about a case filed by the Associated Press (AP), the outlet’s top White House photographer, Evan Vucci, and reporter Zeke Miller explained how the ban has made it harder for the AP to do its job. Their business depends on quickly sharing news and photos with its clients. The disagreement started because AP chose not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico, even though AP style mentions that Trump wanted it to be called the Gulf of America. Judge McFadden agreed with AP’s view that the government can’t punish a news organisation for using its right to free speech.

The White House argued that access to the president by the press is a privilege, not a right, and that it has the power to decide who gets that access, just like it controls who Trump gives personal interviews to. In legal documents filed last weekend, Trump’s lawyers made it clear that even with McFadden’s ruling, AP would no longer have easy and automatic access to public presidential events. The administration argued that no other news organisation in the U.S. has the same guaranteed access that the Associated Press (AP) once had.

While the AP may have become used to this special treatment, the Constitution doesn't require it to continue forever. The administration has appealed McFadden's decision and will be in the appeals court on Thursday to ask for the ruling to be paused until the case is fully decided, possibly by the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the past two months, the administration has not limited the AP’s access to briefings by Leavitt. However, it has blocked AP reporters with White House credentials from attending events in the East Room. The restriction was lifted on Tuesday, when one AP reporter was allowed into an event with the Navy football team.