The White House's feud with the Associated Press (AP) escalated Friday, with the Trump administration pulling the outlet's access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, because of AP's refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as "Gulf of America."

The feud began on Tuesday when the White House blocked an AP reporter from attending a press briefing in the Oval Office over the company's refusal to start acknowledging the name change in its style guide. The AP has maintained it will not change its policy to address the Gulf as "Gulf of America," because it is an international organization and it did not want to confuse its readers.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office that restores names that "honor American greatness" by renaming the gulf and instructed the Interior Department to make the new name official. 

White House deputy chief of staff and cabinet secretary Taylor Budowich confirmed the order to block AP's access in a post on X on Friday afternoon, but said the outlet will retain its credentials to the White House complex.

"The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America," Budowich wrote. "This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation.

"While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One," he continued. "In the future, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration."

The Associated Press has not yet put out a statement on the latest development.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.