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Associated Press v. Budowich

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, No. 1:25-cv-00532 (D.D.C.); No. 25-5109 (D.C. Cir.), filed February 21, 2025

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 7 sources.

Caption
Associated Press v. Budowich
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Court level
trial court
Docket
1:25-cv-00532 (D.D.C.); No. 25-5109 (D.C. Cir.)
Filed
2025-02-21
Decided
2025-06-06
Status
on appeal

What the court held

District Judge Trevor N. McFadden granted a preliminary injunction (2025-04-08) ordering AP's Oval Office and Air Force One access restored, then stayed it pending appeal. The D.C. Circuit (2025-06-06, Pillard, Katsas, Rao; 2-1) granted a partial stay, holding the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago and Cabinet Room are restricted spaces where access is a matter of presidential discretion, while leaving AP's East Room access in place; Judge Pillard dissented. The full D.C. Circuit denied AP's petition for en banc rehearing on 2025-07-22.1234567

AP retains access to the East Room and general briefing spaces; excluded from the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago and Cabinet Room pending further proceedings.1234567

Incidents

Documents and reporting

Claims cited

  1. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden granted a preliminary injunction on April 8, 2025 ordering AP's access restored. rescind the denial of the AP's access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces based on the AP's viewpoint when such spaces are made open to other members of the White House press pool. Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, opinion, CourtListener / Free Law Project, 2025-06-06. Claim 20, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. A D.C. Circuit panel granted the government's request for a stay pending appeal in part, in a 2-1 decision, on June 6, 2025. On June 6, 2025, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Circuit of the District of Columbia, composed of judges Cornelia Pillard, Gregory G. Katsas, and Neomi Rao, granted in part a stay pending appeal, in a 2-1 decision. Associated Press v. Budowich, Wikipedia. Claim 21, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. The Court of Appeals left the preliminary injunction in place only as it concerns AP's access to the East Room. Thus, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the preliminary injunction to restore AP access only to the extent concerning the East Room. Associated Press v. Budowich, Wikipedia. Claim 22, checked 2026-09-22.
  4. The case is docketed as Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, No. 25-5109 in the D.C. Circuit and 1:25-cv-00532-TNM in the district court. Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, in his official capacity as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, et al. Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, opinion, CourtListener / Free Law Project, 2025-06-06. Claim 23, checked 2026-09-22.
  5. Access was conditioned on AP adopting the administration's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America. AP sues White House officials over Gulf of America access ban archived copy, NPR, 2025-02-21. Claim 29, checked 2026-09-22.
  6. AP journalists lost access to two of the venues most central to day-to-day presidential coverage. Trump and his aides have barred the news service's White House reporters from dozens of events since February, including events limited to the reporting pool Judge orders AP's Oval Office, Air Force One access restored, NPR, 2025-04-08. Claim 30, checked 2026-09-22.
  7. The D.C. Circuit's partial stay leaves the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago and Cabinet Room off-limits to AP while preserving its East Room access. On June 6, 2025, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Circuit of the District of Columbia, composed of judges Cornelia Pillard, Gregory G. Katsas, and Neomi Rao, granted in part a stay pending appeal, in a 2-1 decision. Associated Press v. Budowich, Wikipedia. Claim 31, checked 2026-09-22.