The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from attending an event in the Oval Office after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has ordered renamed to the Gulf of America.

The White House apparently wants the Associated Press to use the Trump-approved name for the Gulf of Mexico. If it sounds Orwellian, that's because it is.

The White House barred an Associated Press reporter from covering an event with President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk on Tuesday, in what the longtime newswire said was punishment for its style guide not adopting the president’s new “Gulf of America” label.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the comments as she pushed back against critics of Republican President Donald Trump’s expansive actions. “We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law,” Leavitt said.

The Trump administration has violated a court order by refusing to reverse a freeze of billions in government funds, a judge ruled Monday. The ruling was the latest challenge to sweeping White House plans to cut costs and remake the US government.

A group of Democratic state attorneys general who sued to block the move said that the government was still withholding funds.