A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, after the outlets challenged their exclusion from the presidential workplace in court.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the administration had failed to provide the news organizations with adequate due process before revoking their press credentials. The decision follows a lawsuit filed by the three outlets seeking emergency relief from the White House ban.
Kelly also questioned the administration’s national-security justification for the restrictions. In the proceedings, government lawyers argued that access to the White House is a privilege and maintained that reporting by the outlets could raise national-security concerns.
The judge found that the government had provided insufficient support for its security-related claims and noted that the explanations given to the outlets after the ban was imposed did not clearly establish the basis for removing their access.
The dispute began after President Donald Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be excluded from the White House, accusing them of publishing what he described as “fake news.” The outlets subsequently filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the decision violated constitutional protections for the press and their right to due process.
The administration defended the restrictions, arguing that the president has authority to determine which media organizations receive access to the White House. Government lawyers also pointed to national-security concerns and argued that the outlets could continue reporting from outside the White House grounds.
The case has also drawn attention because Judge Kelly previously ruled in favor of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta in a 2018 dispute over the revocation of his White House press credentials. In that case, the court found that due-process protections had to be followed before the credential could be taken away.
The latest ruling does not end the broader legal dispute. The Trump administration may seek further review, while the case could continue to address the constitutional limits on presidential control over press access to the White House.
