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U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, appointed by Donald Trump in 2017, has issued a preliminary injunction. It is in favor of the Associated Press (AP), temporarily blocking the Trump administration's ban on the outlet’s access to the Oval Office, East Room, and other White House press areas.

The ruling marks a significant free press victory in a lawsuit centered on the administration’s demand that AP adopt politically charged language.

The White House had barred AP reporters and photographers after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” as outlined in Executive Order 14172, titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.”

Lawsuit Alleges Viewpoint-Based Discrimination

On February 21, AP filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., claiming the administration engaged in “content- and viewpoint-based discrimination” in violation of the First Amendment.

The original complaint requested a temporary restraining order, which Judge McFadden initially declined. However, after an amended complaint was filed on March 3—including claims related to the ban of AP photographers—McFadden issued a sharply worded order.

“This seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination,” McFadden said during an earlier hearing, foreshadowing his final ruling.

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Judge McFadden Rules: No Retaliation for Protected Speech

In his April 8 memorandum order, Judge McFadden wrote that the government’s actions likely constituted “unlawful retaliation for exercising its speech rights.”

He affirmed that while media outlets do not have a constitutional right to unrestricted access to the White House, they do have the right not to be punished for their viewpoints.

“Access restrictions must be reasonable and not viewpoint based,” McFadden stated. “The AP says that is exactly what is happening.”

Limits of the Injunction

The judge clarified that his order does not force the administration to allow access to all journalists or prohibit officials from choosing who they interview.

Instead, it bars exclusion based on political or editorial content.

“This injunction does not prohibit the government from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with,” McFadden explained. “It merely prevents exclusion based on viewpoint.”

Associated Press Rejoins Press Pool

Following the ruling, the Associated Press has been reinstated into the White House press pool, restoring access that had been revoked for refusing to align with the administration’s preferred terminology.