The White House said Friday that reporters could no longer access an area in the West Wing known as “Upper Press” that houses the offices of key communications staff members, triggering pushback from White House correspondents, who said the move would hurt the press’s ability to cover the president.

The White House said the decision to restrict access to Room 140 was grounded in national security. Because of “recent structural changes” to the U.S. National Security Council, White House communications staff will now be “routinely engaging with sensitive material” in this part of the White House, officials said.

Upper Press, or Room 140, as it is formally called, hosts the offices of press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other press aides. Reporters have long been able to gather news in the area and engage with White House staff. President Bill Clinton sought to restrict press access to the same location in 1993, but rescinded the measures after media pushback.

The White House said reporters could still freely access the “Lower Press Area” outside the briefing room.

The White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents the White House press corps, said it opposed the government’s decision. The group’s president, Weijia Jiang, wrote in a statement that the restrictions prohibit journalists from areas “that have long been open for newsgathering.”

“The new restrictions hinder the press corps’ ability to question officials, ensure transparency, and hold the government accountable, to the detriment of the American public,” Jiang wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

In a post on X on Friday, White House communications director Steven Cheung claimed that reporters had been caught “eavesdropping” and “secretly recording video and audio” in the area, but did not substantiate the claims. “Reporters can make appointments to see us in our offices,” he wrote.

The closure marks the latest in escalating tensions between the Trump administration and the Washington press corps, dating back to the president’s first term.

President Donald Trump, who has long referred to journalists as the “enemy of the American people,” revoked then-CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials in 2018. A federal judge in Washington restored his access, citing violations of his due process. A similar situation later played out involving Brian Karem, then a reporter for Playboy.

Since taking office again this year, Trump has excluded the Associated Press from certain White House events after the news organization — which sets language usage standards adhered to by many newsrooms — refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” Some access was restored after the AP sued, though litigation is ongoing.

The Pentagon recently imposed the most stringent access restrictions of the term, requiring that all reporters covering the Defense Department in person sign a restrictive press policy prohibiting them from soliciting any information the department has not authorized for release. In response, almost all of the White House press corps — including The Washington Post — turned in their credentials and walked out.

Trump has also successfully pushed Congress to rescind funding for public media, dismantled government-funded broadcasters such as Voice of America and held briefings for friendly influencers.