Overview
- A National Security Council memo issued Friday bars press passholders from entering Room 140 without an appointment with an authorized White House staffer.
- Upper Press, adjacent to the Oval Office, houses the press secretary and senior communications aides and has traditionally been used for impromptu reporter interactions.
- Reporters may continue engaging with press aides in the Lower Press area outside the briefing room, according to the memo.
- The White House earlier this year took control of the presidential press pool selection, and the Pentagon this month introduced rules many outlets rejected, prompting some reporters to turn in credentials.
- The move recalls a Clinton-era attempt to restrict Upper Press access that was later rescinded.