The White House continues to bar Associated Press reporters from presidential events despite calls from the White House Correspondents’ Association and press freedom advocates to restore access. The restriction, now in its fourth day, stems from AP’s refusal to adopt President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich defended the administration’s stance, accusing AP of promoting “misinformation” and announcing that AP would no longer have access to the Oval Office or Air Force One.
“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation,” Budowich wrote on Friday afternoon.
“While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration.”
The development signifies a significant escalation in the White House’s attempt to control the free press.
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WHCA president Eugene Daniels, a White House correspondent and author of “Playbook” for Politico, issued a statement Thursday evening condemning the administration’s political actions, calling the exclusion of AP reporters “outrageous and a deeply disappointing escalation of an already unacceptable situation.”
Daniels, who leads the organization representing journalists who cover the White House, accused the administration of punishing AP for its editorial independence.
“Let me be clear: the White House is seeking to curtail the press freedoms enshrined in our Constitution and has admitted publicly they are restricting access to events to punish a news outlet for not advancing the government’s preferred language,” Daniels, who isgay, said.
He warned that the decision threatens the integrity of the White House press pool, the rotating group of 21 journalists from television, radio, print, wire services, and photography who ensure that the president’s activities are covered for the broader press corps and the public. The Advocate has contacted Daniels for comment about the indefinite ban instituted by the White House.
AP spokesperson Lauren Easton condemned the administration’s actions as a direct attack on press freedom in a statement to The Advocate.
“Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people. The White House has said it supports these principles,” Easton said.
“The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans,” she added.
The WHCA determines the rotation of the organizations that participate in the pool. Traditionally, the White House has had no control over the participating members. The AP has long been a key part of this group, ensuring that accurate, nonpartisan reports reach newsrooms worldwide.
“Our pool system is critical to ensure all of our members can cover the presidency, and prohibiting journalists from access because of their editorial decisions is viewpoint discrimination,” Daniels added.
His latest statement follows a message he issued Tuesday when AP was first blocked from a White House event. “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decisions,” Daniels wrote.
The Advocate, a member of the WHCA, reached out to AP executive editor Julie Pace for comment on Daniels’ statement and whether AP is considering legal action in response to the White House’s actions.
Pace called the continued exclusion of AP reporters “a deeply troubling escalation” and a clear violation of the First Amendment.
“The decision by the White House to block an AP reporter from an open press conference with President Trump and [Indian] Prime Minister Modi is a deeply troubling escalation of the administration’s continued efforts to punish The Associated Press for its editorial decisions,” Pace said.
She added, “It is a plain violation of the First Amendment, and we urge the Trump administration in the strongest terms to stop this practice.”
AP has firmly stood by its decision to continue using “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting, noting that the name has been used for centuries and is widely recognized both historically and internationally. The organization also pointed out that Trump does not have the power to rename geographical features beyond U.S. control since the Gulf of Mexico “lies partially in waters that don’t belong to the United States.”
On Wednesday, Pace sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles condemning the administration’s actions and demanding an end to the restrictions. In the letter, Pace revealed that AP reporters were warned that their access to the Oval Office would be restricted unless the organization adopted the White House’s preferred terminology.
“During a meeting earlier Tuesday, Ms. [Karoline] Leavitt informed an AP reporter that AP’s access to the Oval Office would be restricted if AP did not immediately align its editorial standards with President Trump’s executive order,” Pace wrote.
When AP refused to comply, White House staff blocked AP reporters from two events that day, including an executive order signing in the Oval Office and an evening event in the Diplomatic Room.
“The actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,” Pace wrote. “It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”
She further urged the White House to reverse its position, warning that blocking journalists from covering the president does not just impact AP and limits the American public’s ability to access independent reporting.
At Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s decision to block AP journalists from multiple events, stating that the news organization needed to be “held accountable” for its refusal to use “Gulf of America.”
“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” Leavitt said after being pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America,” she added.
Leavitt insisted that the White House has the right to decide who gets to cover the president.
“Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” she said.
Editor’s note: This developing story has been updated with additional reporting.
