Do you remember when Joe Biden purged more than 440 reporters from access to the White House Press Room?
Mainstream media hacks didn’t make a peep.
In May of 2023, The Gateway Pundit reported on the new rules for White House press passes that resulted in the purge of more than 442 reporters. One of the targets was Simon Ateba, the Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa, who shared the letter he received threatening to pull his press pass.
Ateba fought back. He filed a federal lawsuit, “Ateba v Jean-Pierre,” against Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service. The suit, filed by the Center for American Liberty, alleged the White House violated Ateba’s First and Fifth Amendment rights when it revoked his press badge.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) had no problem with a conservative reporter being censored by the Biden Regime or bullied by their own members in the White House.
It was only when the Far-Left Associated Press lost its privileged Oval Office access under President Trump — for refusing to acknowledge the Gulf of America’s new legal name — that the WHCA suddenly discovered the Constitution.
In February 2025, Karoline Leavitt stripped the WHCA of its “monopoly” over White House Press access. At the same time Leavitt announced plans to expand the press pool to new media.
The Gateway Pundit reported Leavitt’s full remarks from the podium:
“Asking the President of the United States questions in limited spaces, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, is a privilege that, unfortunately, has only been granted to a few. It is not a legal right for all… As you all know, for decades, a group of DC-based journalists, 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. 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.”
Legacy outlets were still allowed in the pool. But new media outlets and streaming services that have been locked out for decades finally got a seat.
The DC press corps never cared about press freedom. They only cared about protecting their own little club.
Not anymore.
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