Round One Goes to the White House As Judge Rules on AP's Request for TRO

By Susie Moore | 7:42 PM on February 24, 2025

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In the whole scheme of things, the fact that the White House and the Associated Press are essentially feuding over the name of the body of water that borders America's Gulf Coast may seem rather petty, but the AP decided to force the issue by taking it to court.

On Monday, a hearing on the AP's motion for a temporary restraining order was held before D.C. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, and he has now denied the motion for a TRO, though he has set the matter for hearing on a preliminary injunction on March 20.

JUST IN: Judge McFadden has *denied* the AP’s emergency motion to restore its access to WH press pool events but has ordered expedited consideration of the matter given the weighty issues at the heart of it.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 24, 2025

JUST IN: Judge McFadden has *denied* the AP’s emergency motion to restore its access to WH press pool events but has ordered expedited consideration of the matter given the weighty issues at the heart of it.

"Weighty issues" may be doing some heavy lifting there, if you'll pardon the pun. The Trump administration has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and the AP is refusing to acknowledge the change via its style guide. In return, the White House has revoked the AP's access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, which the AP claims is a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Associated Press Sues Trump Admin Over Access

The Press Has Descended to a New Level in This AP vs. White House Battle and Claims of Censorship

Matt Taibbi summed up the irony of it all in a recent Substack:

Statement from the Associated Press:
This is about the government telling the public and press what words to use and retaliating if they do not follow government orders.
The White House has restricted AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a location. The Associated Press has provided critical and independent coverage of the White House for over 100 years.
“Telling the public and the press what words to use.” Right.
People are claiming the White House is bullying the AP, repeating the saw that Trump is telling them “what words to use.” If you don’t see the irony, you’ve never used the AP stylebook.

Indeed.

McFadden has now filed his order on the matter — it may be viewed in its entirety below. In a nutshell, he finds that the AP hasn't met the requisite showing to justify a TRO. But he does throw the AP a bone by ordering an expedited briefing schedule on their request for a preliminary injunction.

The White House issued a statement celebrating the victory:

“As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right. We stand by our decision to hold the Fake News accountable for their lies, and President Trump will continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press. This is the most transparent Administration in history.”

And they took a victory lap in the Briefing Room.

WH up with “VICTORY/Gulf of America” signage in the briefing room following McFadden’s decision https://t.co/WaBWaaNT4a pic.twitter.com/KzbaiCSqce
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) February 24, 2025