The New York Times said in a statement that denying American journalists access to an event in the U.S. is "not just another disturbing effort by the administration to undermine independent journalism, but a blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny."

Under a new rule proposed Friday by the Treasury Department, the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, would be severed from access to the U.S. financial system.