Washington — The Associated Press reported that its journalists were barred from attending an Oval Office event featuring President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, despite a federal judge’s order mandating the White House to restore the news outlet’s access as of Monday.
An AP representative stated that its “journalists were obstructed from entering the Oval Office” on Monday, despite the order requiring the White House to lift its restrictions on AP access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other areas with limited space when they are open to other members of the White House press pool.
The AP also noted that one of its reporters was excluded from a South Lawn event at the White House commemorating the Ohio State University championship football team, which was accessible to credentialed media, although two AP photographers were allowed to attend.
A White House official confirmed on Tuesday night that the White House is altering the composition of the press pool, the small group of rotating journalists covering the president each day, to remove the position designated for news wire services like the AP. Instead, the pool will include a second print journalist, with wire reporters able to qualify for the daily print journalist position within the pool.
Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, responded to these changes by asserting the importance of wire services — including the AP, Bloomberg News, and Reuters — in covering the presidency and emphasized that they should retain their traditional spot in the press pool.
“The alterations to the press pool today indicate that the White House is simply employing a new method to retaliate against news organizations for coverage it disapproves of,” he said. “The WHCA is working to determine the practical implications of this, but clearly, restrictions on White House media coverage ultimately harm the American public, who depend on unfiltered journalism to stay informed and make essential decisions for their lives.”
Daniels highlighted that the White House’s claim to maintain discretion over the pool’s composition, rather than adhering to regular rotations, “highlights the administration’s ongoing reluctance to provide assurances against the viewpoint discrimination deemed unlawful by a federal court.”
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled last week that the White House cannot deny AP journalists access to areas made available to the pool or events open to all credentialed White House press corps members based on its refusal to use the term Gulf of America in its Stylebook and reporting. McFadden, appointed by Trump during his first term, placed his order on hold until Monday.
The Trump administration has since appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A panel of three judges will consider on Thursday whether to grant the administration’s request to pause the district court’s decision, which would reinstate the restrictions on the AP, while they review the appeal.
The AP representative reaffirmed in a statement that the outlet anticipates “the White House will restore AP’s participation in the pool as of [Monday], as stipulated in the injunction order.” The White House has not responded to a request for comment.
The AP claims its news reporting reaches approximately 4 billion people daily and filed its lawsuit against three senior White House officials after being notified in February that it would be barred from areas like the Oval Office and Air Force One as part of the press pool until the AP adjusted its influential Stylebook to refer to the Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Stylebook serves as a writing and editing guide utilized by newspapers, magazines, and other media organizations across the country, encompassing a wide array of topics, from state name abbreviations to age descriptions and sports jargon.
Apart from being denied access to the press pool, AP journalists have also faced exclusion from larger events open to the broader White House press corps, according to the outlet’s court filings.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order in January to rename the water body. However, the AP has stated it will not amend its Stylebook, recognized globally in newsrooms, to reflect this change since the president’s directive holds authority only within the U.S. The AP asserted that as an international news agency, it “must ensure that places, names, and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”
Judge McFadden noted last week that the White House likely infringed upon the First Amendment by excluding the AP from press events due to its refusal to alter the Gulf of Mexico’s name in its Stylebook.
The judge clarified that he is not mandating the Trump administration to grant the AP permanent access to the Oval Office, East Room, or other media events, and acknowledged that the AP is not entitled to the continuous press pool access it once enjoyed.
Nevertheless, McFadden stated that the AP “cannot be treated worse than its peer wire services either. The court simply affirms that the AP’s exclusion has contravened the First Amendment, and it prohibits the government from continuing down that unlawful path.”
“The AP seeks restored eligibility for participation in the press pool and limited-access press events, free from an impermissible viewpoint-based exclusion,” he wrote. “That is all the court orders today: for the government to afford the AP equal footing with similarly situated outlets, notwithstanding the AP’s use of unfavorable terminology.”
As a news wire service, the AP is a regular participant in the White House press pool, comprising rotating reporters, videographers, and photographers who cover the president daily and accompany him on outings from the White House.
One version of the press pool, which attends most White House events in the Oval Office and other small venues, includes 21 members. The smallest version, which travels with the president on Air Force One, has 13 members. Typically, the AP held two of the 13 core positions in the press pool.
While the White House Correspondents’ Association traditionally oversaw the pool’s composition, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in February that the White House would determine which credentialed journalists comprise the press pool.
