Judge orders White House to restore Associated Press access after Gulf of America dispute

Published April 8, 2025 6:04pm ET



A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the White House to restore the Associated Press‘s access to key presidential events, ruling the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by barring the outlet over its refusal to adopt the name Gulf of America, formerly the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee to the D.C. Circuit, said the government cannot deny access to journalists “because of their viewpoints,” siding with the AP in a 41-page opinion that hammered down on long-standing principles of press freedom.

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