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The White House press office on Friday unveiled more stringent guidelines for its press “hard passes,” which allow journalists to more regularly access White House grounds than temporary day passes, and which typically take several months to authorize and process.
In a letter sent to all current hard pass holders, the press office expressed its intent to revise the hard pass requirements to “be consistent with that of prior administrations.” Confider reported in March that the Biden administration had sought to return to Obama-era credentialing rules, a change that would likely impact fringe reporters who had become notorious for disrupting press briefings on a near-routine basis.
Under the new policy, all current hard passes would expire at the end of July, allowing journalists close to three months to put in their requests for renewal under the new guidelines. The credentials are then good for one year and are subject to annual renewal.