White House wants to keep news agency AP out despite court ruling

A day after a US judge ruled in favour of the reinstatement of news agency Associated Press (AP) to White House events, the US government appealed against the decision, according to media reports on Wednesday.

A US judge cited freedom of speech in the decision on Tuesday.

"The Court... holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," Judge Trevor McFadden said in his 41-page decision.

"The Constitution requires no less."

AP had sued three US government officials over a decision to ban its reporters from coverage, which was issued in response to the agency refusing to align its editorial style with an executive order by President Donald Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."

The lawsuit named White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt as defendants.

The White House blocked AP journalists from a number of events and denied AP journalists access to Trump's presidential aircraft, Air Force One.

Trump-appointed McFadden ruled that the government "immediately rescind the denial of the AP's access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces based on the AP's viewpoint when such spaces are made open to other members of the White House press pool."

He also ruled that it "immediately rescind their viewpoint-based denial of the AP's access to events open to all credentialed White House journalists."

The AP is widely considered one of the most important news agencies worldwide. The non-profit has generally been given priority access to press events in the US because of the huge reach and importance of the organization's reporting.

The name Gulf of Mexico for the sea inlet on the southern coast of the US has been in use since the 16th century.