White House bars AP from Oval Office and Air Force One over Gulf naming
The White House barred Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One after AP declined to adopt "Gulf of America" in its style guide in place of "Gulf of Mexico."1
- Country
- United States
- Where
- United States
- Level of government
- National
- Tactic
- Access bans
- Outcome
- Unknown
- Era
- The 2020s
What happened
On February 16, 2025, the White House began excluding Associated Press journalists from the Oval Office and Air Force One after AP's style guide continued to refer to the "Gulf of Mexico" following Trump's executive order renaming it the "Gulf of America" for U.S. purposes. AP said it would continue using the historical name while noting the administration's new one. AP sued White House officials, including Taylor Budowich, on February 21, 2025; the complaint alleges "First Amendment retaliation." A federal judge declined on February 25, 2025 to immediately overturn the ban while the fuller litigation proceeded. The dispute produced Associated Press v. Budowich, which went on to preliminary injunction, an appellate partial stay, and denial of en banc rehearing over the following months (see linked case).1234
Access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago and Cabinet Room remains restricted for AP under the D.C. Circuit's 2025-06-06 partial stay; AP retains access to the East Room. See Associated Press v. Budowich.4
What reason was given
The administration tied access to AP's refusal to adopt the "Gulf of America" naming in its own style guide after the President's executive order renaming the body of water for federal purposes.2
What changed for reporting
AP reporters and photographers were excluded from small, high-value spaces (the Oval Office and Air Force One) where the wire service had historically had guaranteed rotating access as part of the press pool.3
Timeline
2025
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | ordered | President of the United States |
| Taylor Budowich | enforced | White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications |
| White House Press Office | enforced | Office of the White House Press Secretary |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| The Associated Press | outlet | affected |
Court cases
| Case | Court | Docket | Status | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associated Press v. Budowich | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | 1:25-cv-00532 (D.D.C.); No. 25-5109 (D.C. Cir.) | on appeal | arising from |
Sources
- White House bans Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One
- AP sues White House officials over Gulf of America access ban archived copy
- US judge refuses to immediately overturn Trump's AP White House ban
- Judge orders AP's Oval Office, Air Force One access restored
- Associated Press v. Budowich
Claims cited
- The White House began barring AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One.
The Trump administration has indefinitely barred The Associated Press (AP) from the Oval Office and Air Force One after the news agency refused to use the new name “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico.
White House bans Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One, News on Air (Prasar Bharati), 2025-02-16. Claim 28, checked 2026-09-22. - 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. - 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. - 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.