POLICY WIRE FACT CHECK: Did Biden revoke 440 press passes? A deep dive into the viral claim
The Claim On September 18, 2026, former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had banned CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House, citing their coverage as ‘fake...
The Claim
On September 18, 2026, former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had banned CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House, citing their coverage as ‘fake news.’ In response, several of his supporters and political allies began drawing comparisons to actions taken by the Biden administration, claiming that President Joe Biden had ‘cut off 440 reporters’ credentials.’ This claim gained traction on social media platforms like TikTok, where a video with 72,000 views stated that Biden had made similar changes to press access, yet received no backlash from the mainstream media.
A 2025 Fox News headline titled “FLASHBACK: Biden also changed White House press pool, cutting off more than 440 reporters’ credentials” was widely shared, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., referenced Biden’s 2023 press policy change during an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ The White House itself later cited the 2023 policy change in its press release on September 21, 2026, stating that Biden had restricted the credentials of 440 reporters. These claims fueled a broader debate about press access, First Amendment rights, and the nature of journalistic freedom under different administrations.
The Details & Investigation
In May 2023, the Biden administration implemented a new policy for obtaining a ‘hard pass,’ which grants journalists unaccompanied access to the White House press areas. Previously, these passes were issued annually, but under the new rules, they expired in July 2023, requiring journalists to reapply using updated criteria. The White House Correspondents’ Association and other media outlets reported that approximately 442 fewer journalists held hard passes after the policy change, aligning with the number cited in some social media posts.
However, it is critical to note that this change did not involve revoking or banning any journalists from the White House. Instead, it required those without hard passes to apply for day passes, which still allowed them to cover the president, albeit with more restrictions. According to Andrew Bates, former deputy press secretary under Biden, most of the journalists affected by the policy had stopped covering the White House altogether and did not apply for the new hard passes. He emphasized that no one was ‘banned’ based on their coverage, and all eligible journalists could still access the White House through day passes.
Jen Psaki, former White House Press Secretary, acknowledged in a TikTok video that many journalists with hard passes had not used them in years, leading to the decision to update the policy. She also noted that right-leaning outlets such as Breitbart, Fox News, and Newsmax continued to receive hard passes under the new system, confirming that the criteria were not tied to how journalists covered the administration. Additionally, a court ruling in April 2025 upheld the Biden administration’s policy, stating that it was both ‘reasonable and viewpoint neutral’ and did not violate the First Amendment.
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Despite these clarifications, the original claim that Biden ‘revoked 440 press passes’ remains misleading. While the number of hard passes decreased, the policy change was not a blanket revocation but rather a restructuring of access procedures. The White House itself later cited the 2023 policy in its defense of Trump’s media ban, but it did not equate the two actions. The key distinction lies in the fact that Biden’s policy was a procedural adjustment, while Trump’s move was a direct and abrupt exclusion of specific outlets from the White House.
Tim Zick, a constitutional law professor at William & Mary Law School, highlighted the differences between the two policies, noting that Biden’s changes were aimed at improving decorum and reducing national security risks associated with unused passes. He warned that while concerns about bias in press access standards are valid, the Biden policy was not a targeted ban but a broad administrative update. The legal and factual record thus strongly supports the conclusion that the claim about 440 revoked press passes is a misrepresentation of the actual policy changes.
The Verdict
The viral claim that President Joe Biden ‘revoked 440 press passes’ is misleading and lacks factual accuracy. While the Biden administration did implement a policy change in 2023 that reduced the number of hard passes by approximately 440, this was not a revocation or a ban. Journalists who lost hard passes could still access the White House through day passes, and no one was excluded based on their political leanings or coverage. The policy was a procedural adjustment, not a deliberate act of censorship.
Furthermore, the White House itself later used the 2023 policy to justify its position on press access, but it did not equate Biden’s approach with Trump’s media ban. The latter involved an abrupt and unilateral exclusion of specific outlets, whereas Biden’s changes were part of a broader effort to streamline access and ensure compliance with security protocols. Given the lack of evidence supporting the claim that 440 reporters were ‘cut off’ from the White House, we rate this claim as MOSTLY FALSE.
Counter-misinformation & disinformation investigation conducted by PolicyWire Editorial Desk (PW).
