An appeals court Tuesday declined to lift the restrictions on White House access that President Donald Trump imposed on The Associated Press after the wire service refused to use his preferred term of “Gulf of America” to refer to the body of water long known as the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Reuters, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit kept a June 6 ruling from a divided three-judge panel in place that allows the Trump administration to legally restrict access to the AP for certain White House spaces.
In denying the AP’s request to review the matter, the D.C. Circuit set up a potential appeal to the Supreme Court.
In a statement following the order, the AP said it was disappointed by the court’s decision.
“As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation,” the news organization said.
The administration barred the AP from the White House press pool earlier this year over its refusal to replace “Gulf of Mexico” with “Gulf of America” in its Stylebook, which is widely used by journalists and other writing professionals.
The AP filed a lawsuit in February, arguing that the access restrictions imposed by the Trump administration violated the free speech protections contained in the Constitution’s First Amendment.
Trump signed an executive order in January that directed federal agencies to refer to the body of water as the Gulf of America.
In its Stylebook, the AP says the Gulf of Mexico has been referred to as such for more than 400 years. Citing its global reach, the wire service said it will continue to use the gulf’s longtime name, while also acknowledging Trump’s new name for it.
The AP notched a victory in April when U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, sided with the news outlet, ruling that the White House cannot admit some journalists while excluding others because of their views.
Two of the D.C. Circuit panel judges in its divided June ruling that paused McFadden’s order were appointed by Trump during his first White House term. The lone dissenting judge is reportedly an appointee of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
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