'Irony': Ex-Trump aide to sit with AP journalists who sued him for correspondents' dinner

A former Trump aide planning to attend a major press event will have to sit with a group of journalists who sued him. Taylor Budowich, one of Trump's former chiefs of staff, will have to rub shoulders with reporters from the Associated Press, who sued him last year for kicking them out of the press pool. Budowich confirmed that "as a fan of irony, I will be with the Associated Press" at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, he told Axios reporter Mike Allen on Friday. Journalist Jeremy Barr posted on X that Budowich's name may be off the lawsuit now. Still, "unless he’s joking, that’s quite something," Barr wrote. The AP named Budowich as the name target in its lawsuit. Budowich booted them because of the legacy media outlet's refusal to adopt Trump's "Gulf of America" renaming. In a statement, the AP downplayed the potential awkwardness. "We maintain professional relationships with people across the political spectrum because we are nonpartisan by design," the statement read, adding that the AP is "focused on reporting the facts in the public’s interest.”The AP was able to re-enter the press pool after the a judge handed down an injunction in April 2025 on the administration's decision. A partial stay in appeals court upheld the Trump administration's decision to keep them out of private spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One, the AP reported.