Judge orders Trump administration to restore White House press access

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore press access to the White House for three major news organizations, concluding that their exclusion lacked constitutionally required due process safeguards. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order granting relief to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico following an escalating showdown over presidential media bans. According to NPR, the order was issued shortly after midnight, requiring the immediate reinstatement of press credentials for journalists representing the outlets.

The legal dispute unfolded swiftly after President Donald Trump announced on Friday, 18 September 2026, that he was barring the three news organizations from the White House complex. Trump stated that his decision was driven by an accumulation of negative coverage, asserting on social media that the outlets should not be able to constantly report fiction and lies. Secret Service agents subsequently turned away journalists attempting to enter the grounds over the weekend, revoking their hard passes. In response, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a joint lawsuit in federal court in Washington on Monday, alleging violations of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause.

Media additions

During a hearing on Wednesday, attorneys for the Department of Justice defended the restrictions by arguing that White House access is a privilege rather than an entitlement, and asserted that the reporting of the three organizations raised national security concerns and violated standards of professionalism. Government lawyers also pointed to letters sent to the news outlets on Tuesday, which outlined an appeals process and gave the organizations a deadline to respond.

Judge Kelly rejected those arguments in his written decision, pointing out that the administration failed to provide advance notice or an opportunity to be heard before stripping the journalists of their credentials. Theodore Boutrous Jr., an attorney representing the media outlets, called the decision a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press and due process, according to DW.

"This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law"

Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, via DW

Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017 and previously handled a similar press credential case involving a CNN journalist in 2018, emphasized that nothing in the pre-suit record suggested the bans were genuinely motivated by national security. The judge noted that the administration's national security justification surfaced only after the lawsuit was filed, and that some of the cited stories were months old or written by reporters who did not even hold hard passes.

The administrative fallout extended well beyond the courtroom. CNN's removal from the presidential travel pool for a United Nations trip prompted other major broadcasters—including Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News—to suspend the cooperative television pool entirely in solidarity. Furthermore, a broad coalition of press freedom organizations, alongside outlets such as Reuters, DW, and the Washington Post, submitted a friend-of-the-court brief condemning the administration's actions as impermissible viewpoint discrimination.

Event Date	Development	Key Participant
18 September 2026	President Trump announces ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico	Donald Trump
News organizations file joint lawsuit challenging the media ban	CNN, MS NOW, Politico
Justice Department sends letters outlining an appeals process	White House Press Office
Federal court holds hearing on temporary restraining order	Judge Timothy Kelly
24 September 2026	Judge issues 14-day restraining order restoring press passes	U.S. District Court

The temporary restraining order will remain active for 14 days, providing a window for journalists to regain access while the underlying constitutional questions are weighed by the court. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is expected to swiftly appeal the decision, with Trump having indicated earlier that his administration would turn to the appeals court if Kelly ruled in favor of the news organizations.