White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that her office restricted free-roaming media access after staff discovered reporters secretly recording conversations inside the Upper Press area.

The change ends decades of open-door access and now requires reporters to make appointments before entering the space.

In an interview with “Pod Force One,” Leavitt told Miranda Devine that the new rules were put in place after several incidents involving reporters attempting to listen in on internal discussions and gather information without authorization.

“We have taken over the responsibilities of the National Security Council, thanks to the restructuring of Secretary Rubio when he became National Security Advisor. Steven Cheung and I are responsible for all communications matters, including national security,” Leavitt said.

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“And so we felt it became very inappropriate for reporters to be loitering around sensitive information in our offices. And we did, unfortunately, catch some unruly reporters recording us without our permission, listening in on conversations, eavesdropping.”

According to Leavitt, reporters had begun positioning themselves outside morning staff meetings, attempting to overhear discussions as officials exited the room.

She said the behavior intensified to the point where senior officials could not brief staff without interruption.

“We’d have staff meetings in the morning. Some of the reporters started to pick up on that, and we’d walk out and they would be out there trying to listen. You know, if Secretary Rubio or the chief want to come in and brief us on something, you’d have reporters out there heckling them, and it just became an inappropriate work environment,” Leavitt said.

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“And so now they’re welcome up here, but it’s by appointment only. And so a lot of the outrage you’re seeing on Twitter, they’ve told us privately they’re OK with how this system works so long as they can still have appointments with me to understand the news of the day.”

Leavitt said she still grants access to reporters as her schedule allows, but noted that much of her time is spent in meetings with President Trump inside the Oval Office.

“I give them as much time as I possibly can on my schedule. Although a lot of my time is with the president and in the Oval Office and sitting in on meetings. So I try to devote as much time as I can to the press because that is my job, right? The basic duty is for me to work with the press and make sure they’re telling the truth out there,” Leavitt said.

Assistant to the President and White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung also addressed the policy change.

He confirmed that the restrictions were implemented after multiple instances of reporters secretly recording video and audio inside West Wing workspaces.

Cheung said some reporters gained unauthorized access to restricted rooms in attempts to overhear private meetings.

“Press still has access to lower press where the press team sits and can answer all inquiries. Reporters can make appointments to see us in our offices,” Cheung wrote.

Some reporters have been caught secretly recording video and audio of our offices, along with pictures of sensitive info, without permissionSome reporters have wandered into restricted areas (our offices are feet away from the Oval Office)Some reporters have been caught… https://t.co/tosUqrcKGt

— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) October 31, 2025

The new appointment-only system applies specifically to the Upper Press area, while other areas used for daily briefings and general press functions remain accessible under standard procedures.

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