A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, temporarily blocking President Donald Trump’s ban on the three news organisations.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued the temporary restraining order on Thursday, September 24, 2026, after the outlets challenged the administration’s decision to revoke their journalists’ White House press credentials. The order will remain in force for 14 days unless the court extends or changes it.
Kelly found that the outlets were likely to succeed in their claim that the administration failed to provide constitutionally adequate due process before taking away their hard passes.
The ruling does not constitute a final decision on the broader First Amendment dispute. Instead, it temporarily restores the status quo while the court considers the competing arguments from the media organisations and the Trump administration.
The case centres on whether the White House could revoke journalists’ access without first giving them adequate notice and an opportunity to challenge the decision.
The three organisations sued after Trump announced on September 18 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer have access to the White House.
The outlets argued that the administration targeted them because of their reporting and that the action violated protections for freedom of the press under the First Amendment, as well as constitutional due-process requirements.
Kelly’s ruling focused significantly on the latter issue.
According to the court’s order, journalists whose hard passes were revoked did not receive advance notice or an opportunity to respond before the credentials were confiscated. The judge cited established legal principles requiring government officials to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard before depriving individuals of certain protected interests.
The administration later provided the outlets with letters explaining its concerns, but the judge questioned whether those explanations could justify the original procedure.
The immediate effect of the ruling is that employees of the three organisations must regain their White House credentials.
What the temporary order requires
The court’s order requires the defendants, their agents and representatives to:
- Return the affected White House press credentials.
- Reinstate the hard passes held by eligible employees of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
- Stop enforcing the challenged access restrictions while the temporary order remains active.
The order specifically excludes Trump himself from the list of defendants against whom the credential-restoration directive operates.
The temporary restraining order is scheduled to remain in place for 14 days.
The Trump administration has defended its authority to restrict journalists’ access to areas of the White House complex.
Justice Department lawyers argued that access to restricted presidential areas is a privilege rather than an unconditional right. The administration also raised national security concerns and accused the affected outlets of publishing inaccurate or sensitive information.
The White House Press Office had separately sent letters to the organisations identifying reporting it said raised concerns involving national security and classified or sensitive information.
Kelly, however, expressed skepticism about whether national security was actually the basis for the original decision.
The judge noted that Trump’s September 18 announcement focused on what he described as false or misleading reporting rather than national security. He also questioned whether the subsequent explanations supplied by the administration adequately established a national security rationale for revoking the journalists’ credentials.
That distinction could become significant as the case moves beyond the emergency stage.
Although CNN, MS NOW and Politico have challenged the ban under the First Amendment, Kelly’s temporary ruling primarily addresses the due-process issue.
The outlets maintain that the administration cannot use access to the White House as a penalty for reporting it dislikes. The government, meanwhile, argues that presidential facilities can impose access restrictions and that press freedom does not automatically give every organisation unrestricted entry to secure areas.
The temporary order therefore does not settle the larger constitutional dispute.
Instead, the court will continue examining whether the administration’s decision violated the journalists’ legal protections and whether the restrictions can remain in effect under applicable constitutional and procedural standards.
The current legal fight has a notable connection to Trump’s first administration.
Kelly, who was nominated to the federal bench by Trump, presided over an earlier dispute involving CNN correspondent Jim Acosta in 2018. In that case, the White House had revoked Acosta’s press credentials following a contentious exchange between the journalist and Trump.
Kelly ordered the administration to temporarily restore Acosta’s access while the dispute proceeded.
The earlier case has become relevant because it involved similar questions about the government’s ability to remove a White House journalist’s credentials without following appropriate procedures.
Kelly indicated during Wednesday’s hearing that existing legal precedent would guide his decision in the current case.
The Justice Department disputed the applicability of some earlier rulings, but the judge said he was required to consider controlling precedent.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed their lawsuit after reporters from the three organisations were turned away from the White House grounds and had their credentials confiscated.
The dispute also triggered a broader response from other major broadcasters.
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC jointly announced that they would halt certain White House pool coverage in response to the restrictions. The White House Correspondents’ Association and nearly 50 news organisations also filed a court brief supporting the challenge to the ban.
The controversy has consequently expanded beyond the three affected organisations into a broader debate about how presidential administrations manage access for journalists covering the federal government.
Trump administration launches alternative media channel
The dispute unfolded alongside the White House launch of a government-run digital streaming service known as Trump TV: The Essentials Station.
The service began broadcasting on September 22 through the White House’s official digital platforms, offering selected speeches, announcements and other footage from the administration.
Its launch came shortly after CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed their lawsuit.
The development has added another dimension to the dispute over access, with the administration able to distribute its own footage directly while several established news organisations contest restrictions on their access to presidential events.
The latest ruling is temporary, meaning the legal dispute is far from over.
During the 14-day period, the court is expected to consider further arguments and evidence from both sides before determining whether additional relief is warranted.
The immediate timeline includes:
- September 18: Trump announced the White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
- September 19: Reporters from the affected organisations were denied access and had credentials confiscated.
- September 21: The three organisations filed their federal lawsuit.
- September 23: Judge Kelly heard arguments over emergency relief.
- September 24: The court ordered the temporary restoration of White House press access.
- Next 14 days: The temporary restraining order remains in effect unless the court changes it.
The ruling therefore restores access for the moment without resolving whether the Trump administration ultimately has legal authority to impose the restrictions.
The next stage of the case will determine whether the temporary protection becomes a longer-lasting restriction on the administration’s ban or whether the government succeeds in defending its decision.
For now, CNN, MS NOW and Politico are entitled to have their affected White House press credentials restored under the judge’s order.
