In Washington, a federal judge instructed the White House to reinstate The Associated Press' complete access for covering presidential activities. This ruling was based on First Amendment principles, asserting that the government has no authority to penalize the news agency due to the substance of its reporting.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, appointed by President Donald Trump, decided that the administration cannot penalize the Associated Press for declining to comply with the president’s executive directive to relabel the Gulf of Mexico. This ruling, although just a temporary restraining order, marked a significant win for the AP amid growing tensions between the media and the White House across multiple fronts.
According to the First Amendment, if the government allows access for certain journalists—to areas like the Oval Office, the East Room, or others—it must not exclude other reporters based on their views," McFadden stated. "The Constitution demands nothing less.
There was uncertainty about whether the White House would promptly enforce McFadden’s decision. To allow the administration time to react or contest the verdict, McFadden delayed putting his directive into action for one week. Soon after the announcement, an Associated Press journalist along with their photographer were denied entry to join the White House press corps as they attempted to accompany the motorcade covering Trump’s speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee meeting.
Since February 11, The Associated Press has been excluded from the select circle of reporters allowed to cover Trump within the Oval Office or onboard Air Force One. They can occasionally report on his activities during events held in the East Room.
We are delighted with the court's decision," stated AP spokesperson Lauren Easton. "This ruling upholds the basic right of the media and citizens to express themselves freely without fear of governmental reprisal. Such liberty is assured for every American under the U.S. Constitution.
Karoline Leavitt, one of the administration officials mentioned in the lawsuit, who also serves as the White House press secretary, has not yet responded to messages requesting commentary. The Associated Press initiated legal proceedings against Leavitt, along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, when they submitted their filing on February 21st.
Numerous media organizations have been justifying this administration's actions.
Since assuming his position once more, Trump has taken strong action against the press across multiple avenues. The Federal Communications Commission now has legal cases pending against ABC, CBS, and NBC News. His administration aims to halt financial support for state-operated broadcasting entities such as Voice of America. Additionally, they have threatened to withdraw public financing from non-profit networks like PBS and NPR, accusing them of leaning excessively towards liberalism in their reporting.
The Associated Press requested Judge McFadden to determine whether President Trump’s administration infringed upon AP's First Amendment rights by censoring their actions due to disagreement over the reporting terminology used by its reporters. Previously, he rejected AP's plea for an injunction to overturn these modifications.
Due to its extensive reach, the AP has historically been part of "pools" responsible for covering presidential events at locations such as the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One. However, McFadden warned that his decision doesn’t automatically mean we’re returning to that setup.
The court doesn’t mandate that the government provide the AP with constant access to the Oval Office, the East Room, or participation in any other media events," he stated. "This decision doesn’t afford the AP any preferential treatment. In fact, the AP isn’t automatically guaranteed the 'always first in line' status for ongoing press pool duties as it had through the White House Correspondents Association. However, it shouldn’t receive less favorable treatment compared to its fellow news agencies.
The judge stated that his ruling doesn’t prevent an official from selecting which media outlets receive interviews or deciding which journalist’s queries they opt to address during press conferences.
This is a crucial decision," stated Katie Fallow, who serves as the deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute located at Columbia University. "The First Amendment ensures that the White House cannot exclude news organizations from reporting on the president merely because these media outlets do not echo his favored rhetoric.
Trump came out and said why he made the move
Although there was minimal disagreement during the court hearing on March 27 regarding why Trump responded to the AP—the president admitted his motives—the administration argued that it had the authority to decide which White House correspondents could ask questions of the president and when, independent of correspondent input or established traditions.
Ever since the conflict with AP started, the White House has implemented measures to regulate which journalists can cover the president at less prominent events and determine their seating arrangements during Leavitt’s press conferences. They argue that these adjustments should mirror shifts in how individuals access news today.
The Associated Press' choices regarding terminology are widely adopted by reporters and authors globally via their authoritative style guide. The organization stated that it will keep using "Gulf of Mexico," since this designation has been established for centuries, even though Trump opted to refer to it as the "Gulf of America." Various media organizations have taken differing stances on this issue; some simply opting to call it the "Gulf" instead.
“Don’t view The Associated Press’ lawsuit against President Trump’s administration as just being about a body of water; consider it more broadly,” wrote Julie Pace, the AP’s executive editor, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. “This case fundamentally addresses whether the government has the power to dictate your speech.”
The testimony showed that AP’s reporting has faced obstacles
Trump has dismissed the AP, founded in 1846, as a collection of "extreme leftist crazies" and stated that "they will be excluded until they acknowledge it's called the Gulf of America."
For a news outlet that prioritizes rapid reporting, the AP sent its top White House reporter along with a photojournalist to appear before McFadden on March 27. They explained how their exclusion from specific events had slowed down the delivery of both written reports and visual content. Their legal representative, Charles Tobin, mentioned that the organization had forfeited an ad deal worth $150,000 due to concerns over this restriction.
Brian Hudak, the attorney representing the government, demonstrated how AP has utilized live streams or images sourced from other agencies to disseminate news promptly. He also highlighted that AP consistently participates in Leavitt’s daily briefing sessions.
In Tuesday’s ruling in the case of Associated Press v. Budowich et al, McFadden stated that the government has been "blatant" regarding its reasons for excluding the AP.
The government provides no alternative reasonable justification for how it handled the AP," the judge stated. "The Constitution prohibits bias based on perspective, even within a non-public space such as the Oval Office.
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