Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that the White House has taken control over the make up the White House press pool, brushing aside the liberal White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which for 111 years was responsible for deciding which outlets were allowed access to the president.

Leavitt told reporters during Tuesday’s briefing that the move would “give even greater access to the American people.”

“The White House Correspondents’ Association has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore,” Leavitt said in a press briefing. “I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations.”

“Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team,” Leavitt declared. “Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join, fear not, but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”

The press secretary added that “legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well.”

In addition to the five major television networks, other streaming services that reach different audiences will also be allowed in the briefing room, she said.

The Trump White House ousted the Associated Press from the pool last week over its refusal to change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in the AP’s influential style guide.

A federal judge on Monday turned down a request from AP to temporarily lift the ban and restore the new agency’s access to Trump’s events, the Oval Office and Air Force One.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden did however schedule a hearing for March 20 to hear arguments over the AP’s request for a preliminary injunction.

The WHCA’s president, Eugene Daniels, said the Trump administration’s “move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States.”

“It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps,” Daniels said. “Since its founding in 1914, the WHCA has sought to ensure that the reporters, photographers, producers and technicians who actually do the work — 365 days of every year — decide amongst themselves how these rotations are operated, so as to ensure consistent professional standards and fairness in access on behalf of all readers, viewers and listeners.”

Daniels added that White House officials did not notify the WHCA board before they made today’s announcement.

Leavitt announced late last month that the Trump White House was committed to adopting “a new media landscape in 2025,” starting with several changes in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.

This White House believes strongly in the First Amendment, so it’s why our team will work diligently to restore the press passes of the 440 journalists whose passes were wrongly revoked by the previous administration.

We’re also opening up this briefing room to new media voices who produce news-related content and whose outlet is not already represented by one of the seats in this room. We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White House. And you can apply now on our new website, WhiteHouse.gov/NewMedia.

Starting today, this seat in the front of the room, which is usually occupied by the press secretary staff, will be called the “new media” seat. My team will review the applications and give credentials to new media applicants who meet our criteria and pass United States Secret Service requirements to enter the White House complex.

The White House has argued that media access to the president is a privilege, not “a constitutional right.”

“Asking the president of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right,” the White House said in a statement.