White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that President Trump’s administration will take direct control of the composition of the daily press pool after winning an initial court decision Monday over its two-week exclusion of the Associated Press.

"This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president."

The White House said on Tuesday it would decide which media organizations participate in the press pool that covers the president, wresting control away from the group of journalists that has done so for decades.