Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The White House barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over “Gulf of America”
A judge ordered access restored as viewpoint retaliation, and an appeals panel stayed the order for restricted spaces. As of early October 2026 there was no merits ruling.
What happened
Beginning February 11, 2025, the White House barred Associated Press reporters and photographers from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other small pool events. The stated reason was that the AP Stylebook kept calling the body of water the Gulf of Mexico while noting Trump’s executive order renaming it the Gulf of America. The AP sued White House officials.
On April 8, 2025, Judge Trevor McFadden ordered access restored, finding viewpoint retaliation barred by the First Amendment. He held that the government may not exclude a news organization from spaces open to other pool reporters because of its editorial choices.
On June 6, 2025, a 2–1 D.C. Circuit panel of Judges Rao and Katsas stayed that order for restricted spaces, holding they are not First Amendment fora. The full court declined rehearing and set a merits schedule. The White House then dropped the wire-service pool slot, and McFadden declined to enforce further. The AP has remained largely outside the small pool since.
Who benefited
The president demonstrated that access to him is conditional on vocabulary. The White House press office took control of pool composition away from the White House Correspondents’ Association in the same period. Outlets friendlier to the administration gained seats the AP had held for a century.
Who wanted something
Trump announced the rename and said the AP would stay out until it complied. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt and deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich announced and defended the exclusion. The gain was leverage over a wire service whose copy reaches thousands of newsrooms.
Who lost out
The AP, and the newspapers, broadcasters and websites around the world that rely on its pool reports and photographs from the Oval Office and Air Force One. Readers lost a neutral wire account of presidential events. Every outlet learned that word choice could cost it access.
Why it matters
A judge found the exclusion was viewpoint-based retaliation and ordered it stopped, and the order has been on hold on appeal for more than a year. The exclusion continued throughout. The episode shows the limits of court orders against a White House that controls the room.
Sources NPRCBS NewsCivil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse (primary)Justia Dockets (primary)Straight Arrow News