Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore White House Press Access

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore White House press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after their credentials were revoked following the ban.

WEBDESK-Zunaira Fatima

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from covering the White House, ordering the administration to immediately restore the news organizations’ press credentials.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued the temporary restraining order shortly after midnight Thursday, granting the three media outlets a 14-day reprieve while their legal challenge proceeds. The ruling requires the administration to return, reinstate and restore the journalists’ White House “hard passes,” which allow regular access to the presidential complex.

The three organizations filed a federal lawsuit after Trump announced on September 18 that they would no longer be permitted to cover the White House. Their lawyers argued that the decision was based on the content of their reporting and violated protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Kelly said the outlets had met the legal requirements for a temporary restraining order and were likely to demonstrate that their press credentials had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.

The administration subsequently argued that the outlets’ reporting had raised national security concerns. However, Kelly questioned this explanation, noting that the available record did not indicate national security had originally been cited as the reason for withdrawing their credentials.

According to the Associated Press, the judge also observed that Trump’s initial announcement focused on what he described as negative or false reporting rather than national security. Kelly further stated that the administration’s standards for conduct that could justify restricting press access were insufficiently clear.

The dispute prompted an unusual response from other news organizations. Major television networks temporarily suspended pooled coverage of the president following the ban, disrupting the White House’s normal press operations.

Reuters reported before the ruling that legal experts had questioned whether the administration’s decision conflicted with constitutional protections against government viewpoint discrimination.

Kelly, who was nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2017, had previously ordered the restoration of access for a CNN journalist in a separate case involving White House press credentials.

The latest order does not resolve the underlying lawsuit. Instead, it restores the previous access arrangements for 14 days while the court considers the broader legal dispute over the administration’s authority to restrict journalists’ access.

The White House can challenge the order as litigation continues, with the case potentially affecting how future presidential administrations regulate press access while complying with constitutional protections.