The White House says the administration of President Donald Trump will decide which media outlets will be allowed access to the president.



Currently, journalists with the White House Correspondents' Association take turns covering the president in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One and at other events.



White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, "A select group of DC-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House."



She said, "Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team."



Leavitt added that "legacy media outlets" will still be allowed to join, and "new voices are going to be welcomed in," such as streaming services.



The White House Correspondents' Association issued a statement saying, "This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States," and that "In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps."



The White House has banned the Associated Press from covering presidential news events for refusing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.



The AP has filed a lawsuit, claiming the ban violates the US Constitution.