Judge lifts Trump restrictions on AP while lawsuit proceeds over 'Gulf of Mexico'

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WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump’s White House to lift access restrictions imposed on the Associated Press over the news agency’s decision to continue to use the term "Gulf of Mexico" in its coverage.

The order from U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, whom Trump appointed during his first term, requires the White House to allow the AP’s journalists to access the Oval Office, Air Force One, and events held at the White House while the AP’s lawsuit moves forward.

The lawsuit is a high-profile test of whether the Trump administration – which faces lawsuits over attempts to make major law firms bend to its will – can pressure media organizations to do so.

Trump's press secretary announced after he took office that he planned to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The AP, a wire service whose reporters span the globe, declined to rename body of water in its stories. The AP sets the style for many news organizations in the U.S.

Trump then banned AP reporters from coverage of White House events.

The AP sued Trump officials on Feb. 21, arguing that the administration's decision to ban AP journalists violated the publication's First Amendment right to free speech.

Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that the AP does not have a right to what the White House has called “special access” to the president.

But McFadden, the judge in the case, said in his Tuesday order that if the government chooses to open its doors to some journalists, it can't then choose to shut those doors to other journalists based on their viewpoints.

"The AP seeks restored eligibility for admission to the press pool and limited-access press events, untainted by an impermissible viewpoint-based exclusion," McFadden wrote. "That is all the Court orders today: For the Government to put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology."

McFadden's ruling won't go into effect immediately: he put his own order on hold through April 13, to give the Trump administration time to seek emergency assistance from an appeals court.