Jackie Heinrich, senior White House correspondent at Fox News, has sharply criticised the White House's decision to take over the Prespool from the White House Correspondent Association (WHCA), which has dominated Prespool for decades. did.
Heinrich, a post X is the press secretary's claim that “we empower people” by controlling the White House pool, a small group of reporters visiting and covering the president's daily activities. I pushed back the argument.
“This move doesn't empower people – it empowers the White House,” Heinrich said in the post.
“The WHCA is democratically elected by the full-time White House press corps,” she added.
Heinrich, part of the WHCA committee, explained the practical reasons why the WHCA had been controlling the press pool for decades.
“The WHCA has been determining pools for decades, because only representatives of our outlets, all staffed outlets will be able to make the president's message as much as possible, regardless of the day or time. Because it allows you to determine the resources you can communicate to the biggest audience,” Heinrich wrote.
Leavitt announced Tuesday that the White House press pool will be decided by the administrator. Traditionally, press pools have been conditioned by the WHCA. The WHCA has traditionally been respected by White House officials from multiple administrations.
“That's from the time when the White House pool reflects American media habits in 2025,” Levitt said during a briefing with reporters.
According to Leavitt, the goal is to increase access to management for new or alternative media companies while keeping certain “legacy” outlets in rotation.
Heinrich said in all administrations the WHCA “advocates for expanding access to news events beyond just the pool.”
The White House traditionally decides whether the event is “open press” or “pool only.” This is often based on security or space constraints, Heinrich said.
However, those scenarios state that “the pool should be introduced to the maximum possible extent to enable expression from each constituency (radio, television, wire, printing, stills, new media). It's the WHCA job to guarantee.
“Our job is to advocate for the most accessible possible,” she added.
