The White House said Tuesday that its officials will determine which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organisations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans. The move, coupled with the government's arguments this week in a federal lawsuit over access filed by The Associated Press, represented an unprecedented seizing of control over coverage of the American presidency by any administration. Free speech advocates expressed alarm over what it could mean for democracy. And three wire services that reach billions of people around the world said Wednesday that the change would harm the dissemination of reliable information about the nation's chief executive. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the changes would rotate traditional outlets from the group and include some streaming services. Leavitt cast the .