In the past three months, the number of journalists with access to the White House has decreased by 31%. As a result of new regulations announced in May and implemented on Tuesday, there are now 442 fewer journalists in possession of a coveted “hard pass.”

Fred Lucas of The Daily Signal was one of the journalists who was supposed to lose his White House press pass, but he was allowed a 10-day extension “to submit the required materials.” In order to comply with the White House’s new demand, journalists must now receive press credentials from either the Supreme Court or Congress; Lucas is presently awaiting a response to his petitions to the other branches.

Politico’s West Wing Playbook published the statistics along with the startling news that Today News Africa’s White House correspondent, Simon Ateba, had lost his hard pass on Wednesday. Ateba and the other 441 journalists who have lost their credentials would be unable to access the expansive Pennsylvania Avenue campus or attend White House press conferences without a temporary day pass.

In May, the White House published new regulations to reduce the number of journalists eligible for a White House hard pass. Reporters may still apply for a day permit, but they must do so each day and receive Secret Service approval.

The number of journalists with hard passes was a secret up until this past week, according to the White House. In the last three months, according to Politico, “Within the past three months, the number of hard pass holders dropped from 1,417 to 975, with those approved reflecting a mix of renewals and new applications.”

Under the new regulations, one applicant for a hard pass was denied, a White House spokesman confirmed to Politico. The reporter’s identity was concealed by the White House.

According to the six guidelines outlined in the May letter, journalists must be full-time employees of a news organization, local Washington, D.C. residents, have regular access to and coverage of the White House, and acquiesce to a Secret Service investigation. In addition, they now require applicants to obtain “press gallery accreditation from either the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, or Supreme Court”

In addition, the letter gives the press office of Vice President Joe Biden more authority to dismiss correspondents who do not “act professionally.” Frequently, Ateba and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued.

In July, Ateba was warned by the White House Press Office that he could be expelled if he continued to disrupt briefings in violation of the new guidelines.

BREAKING: The @WhiteHouse is changing the rules for press hard passes to target me. But I qualify for all those things as we just filed our taxes, are registered with the District of Columbia and have our address in DC. I studied journalism in college, received two degrees, have… pic.twitter.com/NMvVF4WSaC

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 5, 2023

Lucas covered the White House for Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden’s administrations.

The White House claims that the new regulations will increase security by restricting access to hard permits.

According to a White House spokesman who spoke with Politico, “at the time we initiated this process in early May, roughly 40 percent of hard pass holders had not entered the White House complex in the preceding three months.” The statement continues, “We believe this demonstrates that we have led a thoughtful and thorough process that preserves robust media access to campus for everyone who requires it, whether they have a hard pass or a day pass.”

In July, an attorney for InterMountain Christian News White House reporter Matthew Anthony Harper protested the new regulations by sending a cease-and-desist letter to the White House.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

The letter stated that “The requirement of accreditation by a press gallery in either the U.S. Congress or the Supreme Court appears to be an effort to purge smaller, regional news outlets who cannot afford enough reporters to continually cover both the White House and another branch of government.” CONTINUE READING…