Image Credit: @PressSec / X & @CSexton25 / X
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
While Tennessee’s own Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville-District 25) has done all in his power to deliberately keep conservative reporting stifled at the Capitol, President Donald Trump and his White House press team are representing “the most transparent Administration in history” by shaking the foundations of traditional media reporting and opening doors to independent and conservative journalism in unprecedented ways.
Before the start of this year’s legislative session, The Tennessee Conservative (TTC) requested full press access to the goings-on at the Capitol for our onsite reporter, Adelia Kirchner, only to be stymied at every turn by Speaker Sexton and the left-leaning Capitol press corps.
TTC founder Brandon Lewis sent a written request to Sexton and after his refusal, followed up with Press Corps Chair Kimberly Kruesi, who relayed the corps had unanimously voted to reject the TTC application for membership.
Kruesi also made clear the Speaker still has the power to allow press access outside the press corps despite Sexton’s claims that only the press corps could authorize such a request.
It was also discovered, through info provided by an anonymous source, that Sexton actively works to keep conservative journalism and media from the Capitol, specifically naming The Tennessee Star.
The Tennessee Conservative’s reporter has still not been granted access to any press conferences or gatherings despite her presence on the Capitol grounds every day.
Meanwhile, in an example of true Freedom of the Press, the White House press team, led by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is taking commanding action to combat the “record low” level of trust the American public has in the legacy media.
In her very first press briefing, Leavitt announced some historic shakeups to the press pool procedures, including, “opening up this briefing room to new media voices who produce news-related content and whose outlet is not already represented by one of the seats in this room. We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White House.”
Additionally, the seat in the front of the briefing room, typically occupied by the press secretary staff was converted to what Levitt called the “new media” seat, to be filled by members from new media outlets who, “despite being some of the most viewed news websites in the country, have not been given seats in this room.”
The administration also stated it would be working to restore the press passes of 440 journalists who were cut off by the Biden administration in 2023.
In another unprecedented move, the Trump administration revoked the Associated Press’ (AP) privilege of access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over their refusal to properly use “Gulf of America” in their writings, with white House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich stating the outlet was propagating misinformation and dishonest reporting given the new name is a “lawful geographic name change.”
The AP filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to reverse the decision which was denied by federal judge Trevor McFadden.
Following the win, the White House went a step further by declaring the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), notorious for incestuously electing their own left-leaning legacy outlets for membership, much like the Tennessee Capitol press corps, will no longer select which members comprise the Press Pool, but that the White House press team would instead make the determination.
Leavitt stated the decision, “Gives power back to the people. Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join – but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”
In response to the significant moves by the Trump team, Brandon Lewis posted an X poll asking, “Donald Trump is opening up press opportunities for conservative outlets, yet Cameron Sexton has barred all conservative outlets from legislative press conference access. Do you agree with Cameron Sexton that conservative outlets should be banned in the Tennessee legislature?”
At the time of this writing, over 96.3% of respondents answered, “No” they do not agree with Sexton.
Given that President Trump was resoundingly elected by both the electoral and popular vote, it would seem to behoove Speaker Sexton to follow the lead of the Trump White House in providing full transparency and accessibility to all forms of media, especially considering Tennessee’s overwhelming support of one of the most popular and effective Presidents in modern history and Sexton’s contrasting reputation as one of the state’s most notorious RINOs.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
