Following President Donald Trump’s September 18 Truth Social announcement barring CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House over accusations of publishing “fake news,” defenders of the decision quickly pointed to past actions by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
A widely watched TikTok clip, garnering 72,000 views, claimed, “Biden changed the White House press pool and CUT OFF 440 reporters’ credentials, yet got ZERO outrage from the fake news media.”
Similar narratives appeared across social media platforms, highlighting a 2025 Fox News headline stating, “FLASHBACK: Biden also changed White House press pool, cutting off more than 440 reporters’ credentials.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also drew parallels between Trump’s current ban and a 2023 press policy update implemented under Biden.
During a Sept. 20 appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Scalise told host Jonathan Karl, “Go look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden removed the press credentials from over 400 different agencies. You know, what President Trump’s done has brought a lot of those back in.”
Karl challenged the assertion, noting, “They were not banned from the White House.”
The White House doubled down on its directive in a Sept. 21 press release, asserting that access is a privilege rather than a right. The statement referenced past actions by both Biden and Barack Obama, pointing specifically to the 440 credentials “restricted” under Biden in 2023.
In response to Trump’s directive, the White House Correspondents’ Association argued the move breached constitutional protections; the three targeted news organizations filed a lawsuit on Sept. 21; and several major television networks announced plans to suspend White House pool coverage in solidarity.
While more than 400 journalists did experience modifications to their White House access under Biden in 2023, those changes did not revoke their ability to enter the premises to cover the presidency—unlike Trump’s total ban on specific media outlets.
Tim Zick, a professor of constitutional law at William & Mary Law School, explained that the Biden administration’s policy shifts were designed, in part, to preserve order in press briefings and address security concerns tied to a surplus of unused press passes.
“The Biden policy was a far cry from President Trump’s abrupt and process-free announcement of a ban on targeted media with whom he frequently clashes,” Zick noted, characterizing the current ban as “a blatant and clear violation of the First Amendment.”
The Context Behind Biden’s 2023 Policy
In May 2023, the White House revised the criteria for obtaining a “hard pass,” which grants journalists unaccompanied access to press facilities. With the expiration of annual passes in July of that year, reporters were required to reapply under updated guidelines.
As is standard practice, reporters lacking a hard pass could still request day passes, which require an escort within press zones.
According to court documents, the updated requirements dictated that an applicant:
- Must maintain employment with a recognized news organization.
- Must hold press gallery accreditation from the U.S. House, Senate, or Supreme Court.
- Must maintain a residential or professional address in the greater Washington, D.C., region.
- Must have utilized the White House for professional purposes at least once within the preceding six months.
Court filings indicated that roughly 500 fewer journalists held hard passes following the overhaul. A Politico report from August 2023 pinpointed the reduction at 442 passes, aligning with the figures cited by Trump’s defenders.
Addressing the policy in a Sept. 21 TikTok post, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki remarked, “There were a lot of people with hard passes out there that had not used it in several years.”
Simon Ateba, a correspondent for Today News Africa who lost his hard pass under the revised rules, unsuccessfully sued the White House. The legal challenge was dismissed, and the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in April 2025, determining that the policy was “reasonable and viewpoint neutral” and compliant with the First Amendment.
Psaki emphasized that journalists representing conservative networks such as Fox News, Breitbart, and Newsmax successfully retained their hard passes, “because the criteria had nothing to do with how you were covering the administration.”
Former Biden deputy press secretary Andrew Bates confirmed that no reporters experienced outright bans due to the policy changes.
“Most of the reporters Trump’s aides are trying to exploit by citing that number had stopped covering the White House and didn’t even apply for a new hard pass,” Bates stated. “And all of those reporters were eligible to apply for day passes whenever they wanted. No one was ‘banned,’ regardless of how negative or friendly their coverage was.”
Zick noted that whenever governments establish guidelines for journalists, potential risks emerge regarding the exclusion or penalization of reporters based on editorial stance, adding that press freedom advocates did voice concerns over the clarity of the Biden standards.
Nonetheless, while pass renewals lapsed or certain reporters chose not to reapply, Zick emphasized that this administrative adjustment bears little resemblance to the actions taken by Trump.
Conclusion
A viral TikTok video claimed that the Biden administration “CUT OFF 440 reporters’ credentials.”
In 2023, the Biden administration updated the criteria for obtaining unaccompanied hard passes to White House press zones. Although roughly 500 fewer reporters maintained these passes afterward, their access was not terminated; they remained eligible to request day passes. Crucially, they were not barred from the White House premises.
We rate this claim Mostly False.