U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden has ordered the White House to lift access restrictions imposed on the Associated Press (AP). These restrictions were initially implemented because the AP continued to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting, contrary to the administration’s preference for “Gulf of America.” The judge’s ruling mandates that AP journalists be granted access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency’s lawsuit against three senior Trump aides proceeds.
The Hill has more details on the ruling made by McFadden, a Trump appointee:
The judge also granted the AP’s request for returned access to events open to all credentialed White House reporters, though it listed several caveats.
“This injunction does not limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events. It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the President or nonpublic government spaces. It does not prohibit government officials from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with for interviews or which ones’ questions they answer. And it certainly does not prevent senior officials from publicly expressing their own views,” McFadden wrote.
“No, the Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” he wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”
The AP sued three top White House officials earlier this year after its journalists were banned from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the outlet refused to change its stylebook guidelines to use “Gulf of America” after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico.
The AP filed the lawsuit in February 2025, alleging that the restrictions on it were an attempt to coerce journalists into adopting the administration’s preferred terminology, thereby violating constitutional protections for free speech and due process.
Initially, McFadden declined to grant a temporary restraining order to restore the AP’s access, citing a lack of demonstrated irreparable harm. However, he cautioned the White House that the law was not on its side regarding the ban.
Following this initial ruling, the White House, through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, announced plans to assume direct control over the composition of the daily press pool, a role traditionally managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association. The decision was framed as an effort to modernize press operations and reflect the evolving media landscape.
Tuesday’s decision by Judge McFadden to lift the restrictions allows AP journalists to resume their coverage of presidential events firsthand.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates
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Not a problem. Just don’t call on them. Problem fixed.
The right name should be Gulf of America; not Gulf of Mexico. If the news media can’t correctly publish the correct name, they aren’t entitled to be recording the news from the White House!
They do not have a right to be there. So Boo