Fox News host and Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich lambasted the White House for its decision to choose the media outlets that will be able to cover President Donald Trump closely, instead of leaving that authority to the White House Correspondents' Association.
"This move does not give the power back to the people - it gives power to the White House. The WHCA is democratically elected by the full-time White House press corps," Heinrich, a board member of WHCA, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"WHCA has determined pools for decades because only representatives FROM our outlets can determine resources all those outlets have - such as staffing - in order to get the President's message out to the largest possible audience, no matter the day or hour," she added.
This move does not give the power back to the people - it gives power to the White House. The WHCA is democratically elected by the full-time White House press corps.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 25, 2025
WHCA has determined pools for decades because only representatives FROM our outlets can determine resources all… https://t.co/GeGrckDYVt
Heinrich's post came in response to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's announcement that the White House Press Team would be taking control over which outlets would be allowed to enter intimate settings with the President and ask him questions.
"A group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States. Not anymore," Leavitt wrote. "Today, I was proud to announce that we are giving the power back to the people. Moving forward, the 'White House Press Pool,' will be determined by the White House Press Team."
"Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join – but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility," she continued.
This announcement followed a temporary ruling in which the White House was able to bar the Associated Press from attending pooled events after the outlet refused to begin referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
AP brought the issue to the courts on Friday, suing multiple White House officials, including Leavitt, for violating the First Amendment. Trump-appointed US District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who presided over the case, allowed the White House to temporarily remove AP from its media pools but warned White House officials that this measure "seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination."
The WH has always handled credentials (hard passes and day passes) - NOT the WHCA.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 25, 2025
There are many conservative-leaning outlets with seats, including Newsmax, Daily Caller, NYPost, Washington Examiner, FOX, WSJ, etc.
WHCA has assigned seats based on coverage factors such as… https://t.co/2jR1q1KJBn
"The WH has always handled credentials (hard passes and day passes) - NOT the WHCA. There are many conservative-leaning outlets with seats, including Newsmax, Daily Caller, NYPost, Washington Examiner, FOX, WSJ, etc," Heinrich continued on X.
"WHCA has assigned seats based on coverage factors such as regular staffing from outlets - crews covering the WH every day, sending staffing for pooled events etc. There's a gap in public understanding of how WHCA works and what it does, but people would be shocked to learn how logistics-focused it really is," she wrote.
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