It was during the time of President Obama when transparency has been pushed for in the White House. Within his administration, millions of visitor logs showing the entries and exits of individuals to the White House have been voluntarily released to the public.
The Trump administration has pushed for reversing the old policy by citing that secrecy of the White House visitor logs is a must due to privacy and national security issues. They have indicated that it is to the best interest of the visitors to protect their identities. If their identities are known, biases from the public can become an issue and might rouse unnecessary dispute from the public.
According to a report from ABC News, it is in the best interest of the White House security to create these visitor logs to monitor individuals or groups that are entering one of the most important structures in all of America. There are reports that indicate that keeping the logs secret will hide away from the public constant visitors that might be trying to influence the government.
Although this particular issue seems to irrelevant for some, a lot of civil rights groups have lobbied against the decision of the new administration. Their primary weapon - Freedom of Information Act. This enables the public to ask for access or publication of certain information and documents.
The White House has seen a very significant number of policy changes since the new President took his position in January. For instance, the Guardian has reported that the White House must adjust to the "America-first" policy that the President has promised during his campaign.
Changing the rules on visitor logs is just one of the many changes seen in the White House. Based on this report, the White House policies has been starting to get refurbished and refocused on agendas such as job security, economic growth, and strengthening the American military.
