White House defended its overhaul of press operations, replacing legacy wire services in the traveling pool with digital outlets and podcasters.
WASHINGTON â White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mounted a forceful defense of the Trump administrationâs overhaul of press operations during an onstage forum with Axios co-founder Mike Allen, insisting that curbed access for traditional outlets like the Associated Press is not a punitive campaign, but a modernization effort designed to democratize executive coverage.
The contentious exchange laid bare an escalating clash between the White House and the Washington press corps over the institutional balance of power. At stake is a foundational convention of presidential journalism: whether access to the commander in chief should continue to be anchored by legacy institutions, or reallocated at the discretion of the executive branch to an expanding array of digital upstarts, podcasters, and independent commentators.