White House ends wire services' guaranteed seat in the press pool

What happened

On April 15, 2025, the White House announced that Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg would no longer have a guaranteed daily seat in the small pool of reporters who cover the president in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One and at similar limited-space events. The wire services would instead compete with other outlets for a single rotating print-reporter slot. The Associated Press called the decision "a grave disservice to the American people," and Reuters said any government limit on access to the president threatened that principle for the public and the world's media. The White House said outlets remained eligible for selection "regardless of the substantive viewpoint expressed," but did not restore the wire services' guaranteed seat.¹²³

What reason was given

Stated justification

The White House said its rotating system made outlets eligible for the pool regardless of their viewpoint, rather than defending the removal of the wire services' dedicated seat directly.¹²³

What changed for reporting

Three of the world's largest wire services, whose reporting on the president reaches thousands of other news organizations, lost their guaranteed daily access to small, high-value presidential events and had to compete with other outlets for a single slot.²

Timeline

Who acted

Outlets and journalists

Sources

1. Associated Press, Reuters rip Trump White House for cutting wire service slot in press poolFox News, 2025-04-16, reporting. Source record