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PoliticsTransgender People

The White House says it will not respond to reporters who list identifying pronouns in their email signatures

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 9, 2025, 11:04 AM ET
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
  • The White House is refusing to answer questions from reporters with preferred pronouns in email signatures. Several officials have cited policy in doing so, but it’s unclear if that is personal or official. Reporters from The New York Times and other outlets have experienced the snubs.

The Associated Press isn’t the only news outlet that is having trouble getting access to the Trump administration.

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The White House is refusing to answer emails from reporters who list their preferred pronouns in their email signatures, according to a report from The New York Times.

Several officials have responded to queries with non-answers, citing the pronoun addition to signatures.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, wrote a reporter saying “As a matter of policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios.” DOGE senior advisor Katie Miller, in reply to another reporter’s question, wrote “As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts,” adding in a separate email, “this applies to all reporters who have pronouns in their signature.”

Whether that is an official White House policy or a personal one of those officials is unclear. Other outlets beyond the Times say they’ve experienced the same non-responses when pronouns were added to signatures.

The White House administration has been particularly focused on transgender-related policy announcements since January. Donald Trump has issued executive orders declaring there are two sexes and barring transgender people from serving in the military and from competing in women’s sports.

“Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story,” Leavitt told the Times in an email.

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About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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