AP sues White House officials over Gulf of Mexico naming dispute

The Associated Press filed a federal lawsuit Friday against top White House officials after being barred from key presidential coverage over its refusal to adopt President Donald Trump’s mandated renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, names White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich as defendants.

The news agency seeks an emergency hearing and a court order to lift restrictions that have blocked its reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other presidential events.

At the heart of the dispute is AP’s continued use of “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting, defying Trump’s executive order to refer to the body of water as the “Gulf of America.”

“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” AP lawyers argued in court documents. “The Constitution does not allow the government to control speech. Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom.”

Trump’s ban on AP journalists from White House

The ban has effectively shut out AP journalists from the White House press pool, limiting access to presidential activities that inform billions of readers worldwide through the agency’s global news distribution network.

Trump defended the administration’s stance Tuesday. “They’re doing us no favors, and I guess I’m not doing them any favors. That’s the way life works,” he said, adding that AP would remain barred until “they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.”

The AP has maintained its position based on international considerations. “Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, along with other countries and international bodies, is not obligated to recognize the name change,” the agency explained in its stylebook.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Friday, Press Secretary Leavitt remained defiant: “We’ll see them in court. We feel we are in the right. We are going to ensure that truth and accuracy is present at that White House every single day.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association has condemned the exclusion as “outrageous,” highlighting growing tensions between the administration and traditional media outlets.