A federal judge has ordered the White House to immediately restore press credentials to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, temporarily halting President Donald Trump’s decision to bar journalists from those outlets. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a 14-day restraining order on September 24, 2026, requiring the administration to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” hard-pass press credentials held by employees of the three organisations.
The decision follows the judge’s conclusion that the administration violated due-process protections by revoking credentials without prior notice or an opportunity to challenge the move. Kelly referenced legal precedent, stating that “The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest.” The judge noted that the affected journalists were not given notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest the decision before their hard passes were deactivated and confiscated, and the administration did not notify them of an avenue to appeal until Wednesday, days after the ban had taken effect.
Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were banned from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing them of persistently reporting what he described as “fake news,” “fiction and lies.” By the following morning, reporters including CNN’s Betsy Klein, MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner, and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett were denied entry to the White House after their credentials were revoked or seized. The organizations argued this violated their First Amendment rights, while the White House claimed access was a “privilege” rather than an absolute right.
Media outlets sue over First Amendment retaliation
On September 21, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico—along with individual reporters—filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case, Cable News Network, Inc. et al. v. Trump et al., alleges First Amendment retaliation, viewpoint discrimination, and a Fifth Amendment due-process violation. The plaintiffs argued that the administration could not withdraw credentials simply because it disagreed with their reporting.
The organizations stated in their filing that “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles.” They sought emergency relief to restore credentials while the broader legal challenge proceeded.
The White House defended the restrictions in court, citing national security concerns. However, Kelly found the administration’s justification lacked sufficient evidence. Trump had not mentioned national security in his initial announcement, instead framing the decision as a response to “negativity” and “lack of truthfulness” in the outlets’ coverage. Later letters from the administration alleging security threats were deemed too vague to justify the revocations.
Judge rejects White House’s vague credential revocation rules
A deeper issue emerged in the ruling: the administration had not established clear, preexisting standards for withdrawing credentials. Kelly noted that the standards later cited, such as those related to “professionalism and decorum”, were too ambiguous to support the action. The order does not permanently resolve the lawsuit or guarantee unrestricted access to all presidential events but temporarily restores credentials pending further litigation.
The White House press pool is a rotating group of journalists responsible for providing reports, photographs and audiovisual material from events where space prevents the entire press corps from attending. After CNN was prevented from performing a scheduled television pool assignment, the television networks that participate in the White House pool suspended network pool coverage rather than replace CNN. The dispute also prompted expressions of support from other major news organisations.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions over how presidential administrations regulate press access. During Trump’s first administration in 2018, the White House revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s hard pass after a confrontation at a presidential news conference. Kelly the same judge handling the present case ordered Acosta’s credential temporarily restored, with the litigation focusing substantially on whether adequate procedural protections had been provided.
Kelly’s ruling requires administration officials to restore credentials immediately while the lawsuit continues.
