Reports indicate that the White House is preparing to implement a revised seating arrangement for the briefing room, potentially leading to several major publications losing their customary front-row positions.
Axios has reported that the administration plans to establish and implement its own seating plan, a responsibility traditionally managed by the journalist-led White House Correspondents’ Association for many years.
An anonymous senior source from the White House mentioned that the Trump administration seeks a “comprehensive reorganization of the briefing room, guided by metrics that better represent contemporary media consumption habits.”
The objective is not solely to achieve positive media coverage,” the official stated to Axios. “It is essential to have a genuine assessment of how the outlets’ coverage is consumed. While influencers play a significant role, their capacity to deliver consistent coverage poses challenges. Therefore, the capability to report on the White House is a key metric.
“Prominent traditional media outlets will continue to be part of the equation. However, anticipate that some may experience reduced visibility compared to their usual positions in the front rows. Our aim is to strike a balance between innovation and accountability,” the official remarked, according to Axios.
This action undermines the autonomy of a free press in the United States,” stated WHCA president Eugene Daniels in reaction to the White House’s assumption of control over press pool assignments. “It implies that the government will select the journalists who report on the president.
In a democratic society, leaders should not have the authority to choose their own press corps.” Daniels, however, did not provide specific examples of how the Trump administration’s actions restricted the ‘independence’ of the ‘free press.’ Furthermore, the White House is not prohibiting any media outlet from covering the president.
On Thursday, Trump utilized his Truth Social platform to urge the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to recover billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars that were reportedly disbursed to a Georgia Democrat’s organization and the Washington, D.C.-based media outlet Politico.
“What has become of the $8,000,000 allocated by our ‘government’ to the Radical Left Politico magazine, or whatever it may be called? Owned by affluent individuals, this funding should be reclaimed by DOGE without delay,” Trump stated.
Furthermore, will Stacey Abrams return the two billion dollars that were allocated to her ‘environmental fund’ just before I took office? She experienced a remarkable increase in donations from $100 to $2,000,000,000 in a single day. Quite impressive! It is imperative that the funds be returned, Trump stated.
In early February, the White House disclosed that federal agencies are working to cancel costly contracts with Politico, following remarks by Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-reduction initiative, who described them as a ‘wasteful’ expenditure of taxpayer funds, as reported by the New York Post.
According to usaspending.gov, Politico received approximately $8.4 million in taxpayer money during the 12-month period ending September 30, 2024, although the site currently indicates the award amount is $8.2 million.
I can assure you that the expenditure of over eight million taxpayer dollars, which has effectively subsidized subscriptions to Politico at the expense of the American taxpayer, will cease to occur,” stated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a routine briefing with reporters this week.
She stated, “The DOGE team is currently in the process of canceling those payments. This initiative represents a comprehensive government effort to meticulously review the federal government’s financial records, and the president along with his team are making decisions that span all areas.”
