13 hours Ago By USA TODAY
The Associated Press claimed in a Friday lawsuit that the Trump administration broke the law by banning AP journalists from White House events after it refused to adopt President Donald Trump 's renaming of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America." Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office, Jan. 20, making the change.
He followed that up with a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 to be "Gulf of America Day." "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," the AP said in its lawsuit .
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The AP's lawsuit targets three officials: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt , White House chief of staff Susie Wiles , and White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich . Leavitt told AP Chief White House correspondent Zeke Miller on Feb.
11 that the AP wouldn't be allowed in the Oval Office as part of the pool of permitted press unless it changed its style guide, according to the lawsuit. Budowich said publicly on Feb. 14 that AP journalists were indefinitely barred from limited spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One because of the name-change refusal.
Wiles allegedly sent the AP an email Tuesday saying it was being targeted because its stylebook is used by many, adding that the White House "remain(ed) hopeful" the news organization would reverse course. "The law does not allow the government to control speech based on its likes and dislikes," the AP said in its lawsuit. It pointed to multiple provisions of the Constitution, including the First Amendment's protection for speech.
Trump also changed the name of the tallest mountain in North America – a peak in Alaska – from Denali to Mount McKinley, reversing a name change enacted by President Barack Obama in 2015. In his executive order, Trump called Obama's name change "an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice." "Denali" was the original name of the mountain in the Athabaskan language of Alaska natives.
In a Jan. 23 announcement , the AP wrote that it would be changing its style guide – which is often used by other news organizations – to refer to the mountain as "Mount McKinley," but would continue referring to the Gulf as the "Gulf of Mexico." It noted the mountain lies solely in the U.
S. and has gone through a U.S.
name change before, whereas the Gulf has shared borders between the U.S. and Mexico and has carried the "Gulf of Mexico" label for more than 400 years.
"As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences," according to the announcement. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AP sues White House over 'Gulf of Mexico' retaliation.
