A federal judge, Timothy Kelly, has ordered the White House to immediately restore access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, deeming President Donald Trump's ban on the three news outlets likely unconstitutional. The ruling, issued on September 24, 2026, grants a 14-day temporary restraining order, stating that the news organizations are likely to succeed in their lawsuit against the Trump administration, primarily because their credentials were revoked without due process. The judge noted that the White House did not dispute that the outlets "did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their hard passes were revoked."
President Trump had announced the ban on Truth Social, citing the outlets' "constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!" He argued that media outlets should not "constantly write or report FICTION and LIES" about him or his administration. However, Judge Kelly rejected the White House's argument that the ban was motivated by national security concerns, pointing out that Trump's initial statements focused on the alleged untruthfulness of their reporting, not security. Trump had even referred to his directive as "the ban on the free press" and stated, "I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here."
The White House had attempted to address due process claims by sending letters to the news outlets, allowing them to contest the decision. These letters accused the outlets of publishing "sensitive security information, and misinformation" that "undermines the President’s ability to safeguard the national security." However, Judge Kelly referenced a prior D.C. Circuit Court case involving Trump, which established that revoking a reporter’s hard pass requires publicly stated standards of conduct. The judge found no "formally articulated standards" in the record, and deemed the standards offered in the White House's letters too vague.
Despite the judge's order, Reuters reported that Politico and MS NOW reporters were initially barred from the White House, and Politico's credentials were confiscated. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association, and 49 other news and media organizations, including NBCUniversal Media LLC, had filed a legal brief supporting the three outlets. They argued that the ban was "transparently viewpoint discriminatory" and inconsistent with the First Amendment, which protects against denying benefits based on constitutionally protected interests like freedom of speech.
