Trump Administration's Name Change for Gulf Causes Controversy with AP

President-elect Donald Trump announced the Gulf of Mexico name change plan during remarks on January 7.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that its reporter was barred from an event at the Oval Office Tuesday after the outlet refused to use the term "Gulf of America" in accordance with President Trump's executive order renaming the body of water between the United States and Mexico.

"Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon, AP's reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing," AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said in a statement.

"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," Pace continued. "Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP's speech not only severely impedes the public's access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.

Trump signed an executive order renaming the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America" on his first day in office. He also restored Alaska's Denali to its previous name, Mt. McKinley, after the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. President Obama had renamed Mt. McKinley to Denali, the name given to it by Alaskan natives, in 2015.

In its style guidance, issued Jan. 23, the AP stated it would use "Mount McKinley" because Trump has the authority to rename American landmarks, but not the "Gulf of America" exclusively.

"The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. 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," the guidelines state.

The AP told Fox News Digital Tuesday it stands by the guidance.

White House Correspondents' Association president Eugene Daniels expressed support for the AP and "calls on the administration to immediately change course."

"The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors' decisions. The move by the administration to bar a reporter from The Associated Press from an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable," he said.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Google Maps and the FAA have begun using the "Gulf of America" terminology.

"Please be advised that the FAA is in the process of updating our data and charts to show a name change from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and a name change from Denali to Mount McKinley. This will be targeted for the next publication cycle," the FAA stated in a charting notice.

Elon Musk appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office Tuesday as the president signed executive orders instructing department heads to draft plans for large-scale reductions in the federal workforce.