White House Ends Visitor Log Transparency in Trump's Second Term

On February 11, 2025, the White House confirmed it would not release presidential visitor logs during Trump's second term, reversing the disclosure practice used by the Biden and Obama administrations. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration was providing a different form of transparency, though the decision removes a public record of who meets with senior officials.

Visitor logs have served as one of the few tools available to journalists and watchdogs for tracking lobbying activity and potential conflicts of interest. Disclosure was never a legal requirement, since the records are protected under the Presidential Records Act until five years after a president leaves office, but voluntary release had become an informal norm in recent administrations.

The decision matches the approach taken during Trump's first term, when logs were also withheld. Transparency advocates say the change makes it harder to track meetings with donors, lobbyists, and business interests.