White House plans to shake up press room seating chart, likely boot legacy media further back: report

The White House plans to take over the seating chart for the press briefing room and will likely boot some legacy media outlets further back, according to a report.

It’s the Trump administration’s latest effort to shake up traditional media’s grip on White House coverage.

The White House is looking to impose its own seating chart in coming weeks, taking over a function long managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association, according to Axios.

Though legacy media outlets will still be included in the chart, some will likely be demoted from their coveted upfront seats, a senior White House official told Axios.

Priority seating gives reporters more face time with the White House press secretary, making them more likely to get picked for questions and featured on television.

Plans have already been formalized for a “fundamental restructuring of the briefing room, based on metrics more reflective of how media is consumed today,” the official said.

The new briefing room layout will include journalists from TV, print and digital outlets, including social media influencers and newer organizations like Axios, NOTUS and Punchbowl, according to the report.

The White House and WHCA did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

“The goal isn’t merely favorable coverage,” the White House official told Axios. “It’s truly an honest look at consumption [of the outlets’ coverage]. Influencers are important but it’s tough because they aren’t [equipped to provide] consistent coverage. So the ability to cover the White House is part of the metrics.”

In February, the White House took over control of the pool of reporters who accompany President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One – another privilege previously controlled by the WHCA.

The WHCA, in an effort to de-escalate the White House’s encroachment, privately raised the possibility of altering its bylaws so the sitting press secretary – in this case Karoline Leavitt – always serves as WHCA president, according to the report.

The White House took over pool responsibilities soon after the WHCA sided with the Associated Press in its battle with the Trump administration.

In February, after AP reporters continued to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” – ignoring Trump’s proclamation to rename it “Gulf of America” – officials barred their reporters from entering the press briefing room and kept them from boarding Air Force One.

The wire service responded with a lawsuit accusing top White House officials of violating the First and Fifth Amendments.

In a filing, the WHCA called the ban “unacceptable” and said it “has already had a chilling effect on journalists who simply want to do their job on behalf of the American people.”

Last week, Trump said he “would love to” slash federal funding for public broadcasting networks like NPR and PBS.

The president has also sparred with individual reporters.

Earlier this month, Trump cut off CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a press briefing, saying sharply: “Excuse me, I didn’t pick you.”

He also refused to take a question from an NBC News reporter and slammed the network as “so discredited.”

Meanwhile, the WHCA appears to be kowtowing to some of the White House’s requests, canceling plans for an anti-Trump comedian to host its annual dinner on April 26.

“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote in a letter to members on Saturday.

The decision to pull comedian Amber Ruffin reportedly came after White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich raised concerns about her past comments on Trump.

Ruffin told the Daily Beast she wanted to call the Trump administration a “bunch of murderers,” but was being asked to tone down her material .

In a post on X alongside a clip of Ruffin, Budowich wrote: “This year’s WHCA dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration ‘murderers’ who want to ‘feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not.’”