White House Restores Press Access, Then Bars Reporters Again
A federal judge ordered the White House to reinstate the press credentials of CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ending a week-long ban. But hours after reporters returned to the grounds, journalists from two of the outlets were again turned away from a high-profile state dinner — raising fresh questions about whether the administration is fully complying with the court’s order.
According to NBC News, CNN’s Betsy Klein and MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López immediately began reporting on air after they were allowed back onto the White House grounds on the afternoon of September 24. Politico later confirmed one of its reporters had been granted access as well.
The Ban and the Lawsuit
President Donald Trump announced the ban on Truth Social on September 18, writing that it was a result of their constant reporting of FAKE NEWS. The restriction took effect the following day, when the three outlets reported that their journalists were denied entry to the White House grounds.
On September 21, the outlets jointly filed suit — CNN et al. v. Trump — alleging First Amendment and due process violations.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office shortly after his post, Trump referred to his directive as the ban on the free press. I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here, he said, describing the policy as a response to cumulative stories over the last few years rather than any single report.
They purposely write negative news, Trump said. And they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration.
The White House later sent letters to each outlet accusing them of publishing sensitive security information, and misinformation that undermines the President’s ability to safeguard the national security. The Department of Justice defended the ban, with senior counsel Michael Velchik arguing: Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right.
The Judge’s Ruling
Just after midnight on September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly — appointed by Trump in 2017 — granted a 14-day temporary restraining order requiring the White House to immediately return, reinstate, and restore the credentials of the three outlets.
Kelly ruled that the outlets were likely to succeed on a Fifth Amendment due process claim, finding their hard passes had been revoked without adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Plaintiffs are also likely to succeed in showing that their hard passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process, Kelly wrote.
The judge also rejected the administration’s national security justification, noting that nothing in the record predating the lawsuit supported it.
Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was banning Plaintiffs from the White House — instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiffs’ reporting, Kelly wrote. Simply put — the record lacks factual support for Defendants’ contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security.
The outlets’ attorney, Theodore Boutrous Jr., welcomed the ruling. This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law, he said. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.
A Defiant Morning
The celebration proved short-lived. On the morning of September 24, reporters from all three outlets were again turned away from the White House, and Secret Service agents confiscated the hard pass of at least one journalist — a Politico reporter whose pass had not previously been taken.
The outlets filed an emergency brief notifying the court that the White House had repeatedly violated the order. Kelly ordered the administration to respond in writing by 12:30 p.m. but denied the outlets’ request for an emergency hearing.
White House director of press operations Micah Stopperich filed a sworn declaration stating that her team had been told around 7:10 a.m. to restore access by turning on hard badges, began reinstating them at about 7:25 a.m., and that the Secret Service indicated passes were reactivated as of 9:07 a.m., with confiscated badges dropped at the press gate just before 10 a.m.
Reporters from the three outlets entered the White House grounds around midday, Politico reported.
Denied Again at the State Dinner
That evening, the friction resumed. Journalists for CNN and MS NOW were denied access to a White House state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping, two reporters for CNN and another from MS NOW reported.
CNN was told it could cover the event only with a photojournalist and audio technician, excluding its reporter and producer team. MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López was prevented from covering Xi’s arrival; a White House staffer told her to talk to Steven, an apparent reference to communications director Steven Cheung.
In solidarity with CNN, none of the major U.S. networks provided live broadcast video of Xi’s arrival. The White House streamed the event live on its own YouTube channel.
Broader Concerns About Press Freedom
The case has drawn attention well beyond the three outlets. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association and a group of 49 news and media organizations — including NBCUniversal Media, the parent company of NBC News — filed a legal brief backing the outlets.
The filing argued that Trump’s stated reasons for the ban are transparently viewpoint discriminatory and inconsistent with the First Amendment, adding that the ban prohibited three news organizations from access to the entirety of the White House and its grounds due to the content of their reporting.
MS NOW said in a statement that it intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.
When the outlets filed suit, they said: We are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.
The White House’s stated rationale has also faced scrutiny. One story the administration cited against Politico — about efforts to end the Iran war — was based on a White House press call with a senior administration official, held on background. Other outlets, including the Associated Press and CNBC, reported on the same briefing using the same attribution and were not banned.
This is not the first such confrontation. In 2018, Trump barred CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House; CNN’s lawsuit restored his access, and the administration subsequently published standards of conduct for press conferences. In 2025, the Pentagon restricted press passes for several outlets before a federal judge halted the practice on First Amendment grounds.
What’s Next
Kelly has ordered the outlets to file any motion for a preliminary injunction by September 28, with the defendants set to respond by October 2. He has said he intends to rule expeditiously.
Trump has indicated the White House would appeal any adverse ruling, suggesting the dispute over how much access a president must grant the press — and on what terms — is far from settled.