Headline Roundup • April 9th, 2025
Judge Orders Trump Admin to Restore AP’s White House Access
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore The Associated Press’ (Left bias) full White House access, which it revoked in February.
The Details: The ruling came on Tuesday from Trump-appointed Judge Trevor McFadden but won’t go into effect until April 13, giving the administration a chance to appeal.
For Context: On February 11, the Trump administration revoked AP’s access to the Oval Office and Air Force One after it declined to use the term “Gulf of America” in its stylebook. On February 20, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) authored a letter that condemned the administration’s decision. Over 40 media organizations signed the letter, including Right-rated outlets Fox News and Newsmax. On February 25, the 111th anniversary of the WHCA’s founding, the Trump administration announced it would no longer allow the association to determine which outlets get briefing room access.
Key Quote: McFadden wrote, “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.”
How The Media Covered It: The story was not as widely covered by the right. AllSides found coverage from Fox News (Right) and Breitbart (Right). Newsmax (Right) re-published AP’s coverage of the story. As AllSides pointed out in February, both Fox and Newsmax rely on AP for a significant amount of content and have quietly defended it in the wake of Trump’s attack on the outlet.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
_2.jpg)
AP/Aaron Jackson
A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that the government can’t retaliate against the AP’s decision not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The decision, while a preliminary injunction, handed the AP a major victory at a time the White House has been...
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore The Associated Press’s access to key White House spaces after it exiled AP reporters over the organization’s refusal to use “Gulf of America” in its popular stylebook.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, directed the White House to resume allowing the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when they’re made available to other press pool members.
He also granted the AP’s request for access to events open to all credentialed White House...
The White House violated the Constitution for barring the Associated Press from Oval Office events, according to a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, said that the White House acted against the First Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on viewpoints, by blocking the longtime publication’s access over its refusal to use the term "Gulf of America."
"The Government offers no other plausible explanation for its treatment of the AP. The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office," McFadden wrote.
