On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the White House to restore the Associated Press’ full access to Presidential updates and important meetings.

This comes after President Trump banned the outlet from the White House. This action was found to be a violation of the First Amendment.

The Associated Press was banned from the White House after they refused to call the “Gulf of America” by the new name, still referring to it as the Gulf of Mexico. This ban went into effect on Feb. 11, 2025. In response to this ban, the Associated Press filed a lawsuit against White House officials on Feb. 25, 2025, stating that this exclusion was unconstitutional.

The Trump-appointed Federal Judge Trevor N. McFadden who was the ruling Judge in the case said, “Under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints, the Constitution requires no less.”

On Apr. 8, 2025, Judge McFadden ruled in favor of the AP and ordered the White House to restore the agency’s access to Presidential events. On Apr. 9, 2025, the Trump administration announced that they would be appealing the district courts to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

President Trump has called AP a group of “radical left lunatics” and stated, “We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree it’s the Gulf of America.”

The AP’s executive editor, Julie Pace, has spoken out on the matter. “For anyone who thinks The Associated Press’ Lawsuit against President Trump’s White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger.” “It’s really about whether the government can control what you say.”

According to the AP, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was contacted to speak on the matter but did not respond.