Washington DC - The White House announced Tuesday that it would decide which journalists get access to President Donald Trump's events – removing the power from an independent association of media outlets that has done so for decades.

The move comes amid a legal battle with the Associated Press, which the White House has barred from events in spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One in a row over the naming of the Gulf of Mexico.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) had "long dictated" which journalists were in the so-called "pool," the small group of journalists given access to "intimate spaces."

"Not anymore. I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows and who listen to your radio stations," Leavitt said.

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"Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team."

Leavitt said that "legacy outlets" would still be allowed to join the press pool, but that access would also be opened to "deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility."

The White House began blocking Associated Press journalists from the presidential events two weeks ago over the wire service's decision to keep using "Gulf of Mexico," despite a Trump executive order renaming the body of water as the "Gulf of America."

A judge on Monday declined to immediately order the White House to restore full access to the agency, but set a date next month for a more extensive hearing about the dispute.