Summary
The D.C. Circuit granted in part the government's motion for a stay pending appeal of a district court's preliminary injunction that required the White House to restore the Associated Press's access to restricted presidential spaces following a dispute over the AP's Stylebook naming convention. The court determined that highly controlled executive workspaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One do not constitute First Amendment fora, thereby permitting the President to exercise discretion in selecting which journalists may attend. Because the AP was unlikely to succeed on its viewpoint discrimination and retaliation claims, the court stayed the injunction except as it applies to the East Room.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the White House's exclusion of the AP from press‑pool events and other restricted presidential spaces on the basis of viewpoint violates the First Amendment.
- Whether the AP's retaliation claim is viable under First Amendment law.
- Whether the government is entitled to a stay of the district court's preliminary injunction pending appeal.
Holdings
- The Court held that the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar‑a‑Lago, and similar restricted spaces are not First Amendment fora; therefore the White House may consider journalists' viewpoints when deciding access.
- The Court granted in part the government's motion for a stay, staying the injunction as to the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar‑a‑Lago, and similar spaces, but not as to the East Room.
Key quotations
“"[A]bove all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content."” (at *5)
“We therefore grant in part the White House’s motion for a stay pending appeal.” (at *19)
Factual background
In February 2025 the White House barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and other restricted presidential spaces because the AP continued to use the term "Gulf of Mexico" in its Stylebook rather than the President's preferred "Gulf of America." The district court found the AP likely to succeed on First Amendment claims and issued a preliminary injunction requiring the White House to rescind the exclusion.
Procedural history
The District Court entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting the White House from excluding the AP from the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago, and other restricted spaces based on viewpoint. The government appealed and sought an emergency stay of that injunction.