Overview

• Since February AP journalists have been barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One after defying Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
• In April District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that excluding AP violated the First Amendment and granted the agency renewed access.
• The appeals court concluded that certain presidential areas are not public forums under the Constitution and stayed the lower court’s injunction.
• Legal experts note the appeals ruling is preliminary and that the final outcome of the access dispute will depend on further appellate proceedings.
• The White House meanwhile has reserved privileged entry for conservative media figures and social media influencers, raising questions about media equity.