WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is defending the Trump administration’s changes to presidential press access, arguing that the new approach is intended to broaden the range of journalists and news organizations covering the president rather than restrict the press.Speaking at an Axios event with co-founder Mike Allen, Leavitt said she rejects the characterization of the administration’s policy as a restriction. She argued that the White House should not reserve limited spaces in the presidential press pool for the same organizations on a permanent basis.
“I don’t view them as restrictions,” Leavitt said, according to Axios. “We view them as opening access to more outlets, more voices, more news, journalists and outlets.”
The dispute centers largely on who controls the limited number of seats available when the president travels or holds events in locations that cannot accommodate the entire White House press corps.
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