Three U.S. news organizations returned to the White House grounds on Thursday after a federal judge ordered the administration to temporarily lift a press ban. The ruling comes as CNN, MS NOW, and Politico press credentials were restored following an extraordinary legal showdown over media access.
Reporters from three major outlets walked back onto White House grounds on Thursday afternoon following a dramatic legal clash over press credentials. The return occurred hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore access to the banned news organizations.
The dispute centers on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, whose journalists had their access blocked by the administration days prior. The legal relief materialized in the early hours of Thursday when U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to immediately return and reinstate their press passes.
Judge Timothy Kelly Orders Press Passes Restored
Judge Kelly ruled that the affected news outlets had successfully met the legal thresholds required for a temporary restraining order. He determined they were likely to succeed in showing that their press credentials were revoked without due process.
“This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it.”
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, via Associated Press
Appointed by President Trump in 2017, Judge Kelly previously ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored during a similar 2018 dispute. In his latest decision, he criticized the administration’s stated rationale for revoking press passes, calling the criteria outlined in warning letters so vague it hardly does the trick.
The judge also rejected the administration’s argument that the reporting by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico presented a risk to national security. He noted that President Trump initially focused exclusively on what he deemed negative coverage rather than national security concerns when announcing the ban.
Legal Arguments Highlight Clash Over White House Access
During an emergency hearing on Wednesday, attorneys for both sides staked out starkly different positions regarding presidential authority and press freedom. Theodore Boutrous Jr., representing the news outlets, argued that the ban inflicted irreparable harm at a time of momentous news events, noting the presence of visiting world leaders in Washington.
“I think we’re going to end up stronger because of this, and this tactic of just attacking the press, attacking individual journalists, is going to be discredited.”
Theodore Boutrous Jr., Attorney for the news outlets
Representing the Justice Department, attorney Michael Velchik maintained that entry to the executive mansion remains a privilege rather than a guaranteed right. Velchik argued that the administration was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination, noting that while the president has criticized other media organizations such as ABC, he did not ban them from the premises.
State Dinner Access and Video Pool Solidarity
Despite the court order, normal reporting conditions did not immediately resume. Thursday coincided with a high-profile state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, yet journalists from the reinstated outlets faced lingering restrictions on the White House grounds.
CNN and MS NOW reported that their journalists were barred from attending the arrival ceremony for Xi’s state dinner on the portico. CNN stated that the administration permitted only a photojournalist and an audio technician to cover the event, excluding reporters and producers. MS NOW reported that journalist Laura Barrón-López was similarly denied entry to the arrival ceremony.
Concurrently, a broader media boycott persisted. After CNN was excluded from a rotating video pool of five major U.S. broadcast outlets, the other four participating networks continued declining to share footage in a show of solidarity.
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