November 2, 2025

The White House has rolled out a surprising new rule: journalists can no longer walk freely into Room 140, close to the Oval Office, where Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and her top team work. Now, reporters must make appointments to get in. Why such a big change? The National Security Council says: to protect important secret stuff that the communications team now handles. This rule kicks in immediately. This step mirrors what the Defense Department did weeks ago, restricting reporters at the Pentagon. That move made dozens of journalists pack up and leave their Pentagon offices, refusing to bow to tight new rules. Room 140, also called "Upper Press," was once open for credentialed White House journalists to step in quickly and talk with Leavitt, her deputy Steven Cheung, and senior officials. Now, not anymore. The National Security Council’s memo states, "In order to protect such material, and maintain coordination between National Security Council Staff and White House Communications Staff, members of the press are no longer permitted to access Room 140 without prior approval in the form of an appointment with an authorized White House Staff Member." Cheung himself took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain what happened. He said some reporters were "caught secretly recording video and audio of our offices, along with pictures of sensitive info, without permission." Worse yet, they sometimes wandered into restricted spots or listened in on private meetings behind closed doors. He shared a vivid image: "Cabinet Secretaries routinely come into our office for private meetings, only to be ambushed by reporters waiting outside our doors." Thankfully, journalists can still visit another part of the West Wing where lower-level spokespeople work. But many fear this won’t be enough. The White House Correspondents' Association, the voice of reporters covering the White House, slammed the new restrictions. Weijia Jiang, its president, said, "The White House Correspondents' Association unequivocally opposes any effort to limit journalists from areas within the communications operations of the White House that have long been open for newsgathering, including the press secretary's office." History shows this is not the first time such measures popped up. Back in 1993, Bill Clinton’s team tried something similar but rolled it back after fierce criticism. More recently, the Trump administration kicked big news agencies like Reuters, The Associated Press, and Bloomberg out of the permanent White House press pool, only letting them join sometimes. The new White House restriction comes shortly after the Pentagon’s crackdown, which forces media outlets to accept strict new rules or lose access. About 30 big news groups, including Reuters, refused these conditions, saying it chills press freedom and stops them from doing their jobs well. The Pentagon’s rules warn journalists they can be labeled security risks or lose their badges if they ask for classified info or certain unclassified details. With these twin moves by the White House and Pentagon, the battle lines are drawn over press freedom versus government secrecy.

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Tags: White house, Journalists, Press Access, National Security Council, Media Restrictions, Pentagon,