The Trump White House has quietly changed the rules of engagement with the media, and not in the press’s favor.
Late Friday, reporters learned they would no longer have access to Room 140, known as the “Upper Press” area, without prior approval.
For decades, journalists have freely walked those halls, chatting with aides and occasionally catching a senior official mid-step for a quick comment. That open-door tradition ended with one memo.
According to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Ahtra Elnashar, the guidance went out around 5 p.m. “As a result of recent structural changes to the National Security Council, the White House is now responsible for directing all communications, including all national security matters,” the memo read. “In this capacity, members of the White House Communications Staff are routinely engaging with sensitive material.”
The White House announces reporters are no longer allowed in what’s known as “upper press,” where key communications staff work and until now, interact with reporters. pic.twitter.com/kpMrUuiVEA
— Ahtra Elnashar (@AhtraElnashar) October 31, 2025
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The document went on: “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.”
In short, no more spontaneous questions, no more wandering into “Upper Press.” Everything now requires an appointment.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the move in a post on X, claiming the issue was about security, not secrecy. “Some reporters have been caught secretly recording video and audio of our offices, along with pictures of sensitive info, without permission,” he wrote. “Some reporters have wandered into restricted areas… Some reporters have been caught eavesdropping on private, closed-door meetings.”
Cheung added that “Cabinet Secretaries routinely come into our office for private meetings, only to be ambushed by reporters waiting outside our doors.” He insisted that the press “still has access to lower press where the press team sits and can answer all inquiries.”
But journalists weren’t buying it.
Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, released a sharp response Friday night. “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,” she said. “The new restrictions hinder the press corps’ ability to question officials, ensure transparency, and hold the government accountable, to the detriment of the American public.”
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene chimed in online, pointing out that history is repeating itself. “WH trying to restrict journalists access there, following ejection of the Pentagon press pool,” she wrote. “Bill Clinton tried something similar at the WH, but opposition forced him to relent.”
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
