Statement on Trump White House Victory Against the Associated Press

TLDR

On February 11, 2025, the Whiter House indefinitely barred The Associated Press from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One because the news agency refused to adopt Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” The AP has filed a lawsuit alleging First and Fifth Amendment violations. A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, requesting more detailed briefing. The White House maintains that press access is a “privilege, not a right” while media organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, support the AP’s editorial independence.

This statement from the Trump White House attempts to justify their decision to bar The Associated Press from accessing presidential events, particularly in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One.

The Trump administration has indefinitely prohibited the AP from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One because the news agency refused to adopt Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” The AP stated it would continue to refer to the waterway “by its original name while recognizing the new name designated by Trump.”

President Trump personally made the decision to bar the AP from these spaces, according to court documents filed by the White House. During a press conference in Florida, Trump justified the exclusion, saying “We will exclude them until they agree that it is the Gulf of America.”

In response, the AP filed a lawsuit against three Trump administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The lawsuit alleges violations of the First and Fifth Amendments, arguing that “The press and every citizen in the United States possess the right to select their own terminology without facing government retaliation.”

On February 24, 2025, federal Judge Trevor McFadden declined to issue a temporary restraining order requested by the AP, asking for more detailed briefing before reaching a conclusion. The judge expressed hesitance to act “precipitously” concerning the executive office of the president.

The White House’s claim that questioning the President is a “privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right” represents their legal position in the ongoing case. Their attorneys argued in court that “The President has absolute discretion to give interviews to whomever he pleases” and that this discretion extends to access to the Oval Office and Air Force One.

The assertion that this is “the most transparent Administration in history” contradicts the administration’s actions in this case, which appear to be an attempt to control press language and terminology. The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich characterized the dispute as being about “weaponizing language through their stylebook to promote a partisan perspective.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association, which includes outlets friendly to Trump such as Fox News and Newsmax, has filed an amicus brief supporting the AP’s position, stating “The government should never interfere with the editorial independence of an outlet, nor should it demand reporters adopt the government’s messaging, framing, and indeed, ideological worldview.”

The next hearing in this case is scheduled for March 20, 2025.

ACTIONS

• 2025-02-25: White House seizes control of press pool, will decide which outlets cover events with president | POLITICO — The White House announced it will now control which media outlets cover presidential events as part of the press pool, reversing the long-standing practice where journalists determined pool participation. This decision follows the administration barring the Associated Press from pooled events after AP refused to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that the White House Correspondents’ Association “should no longer have a monopoly” on organizing press pools.