A federal judge has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to immediately restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, days after reporters from the three outlets were barred from the premises.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a 14 day temporary restraining order early on Thursday, 24 September 2026, in the case brought by the outlets, ruling that the ban was most likely unconstitutional. The order requires the White House to return, reinstate and restore the hard pass credentials held by the outlets’ employees, and takes effect while their legal challenge proceeds.
According to the ruling, Kelly found that revoking the passes was done without constitutionally adequate due process. He wrote that the general rule is that individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government deprives them of a constitutionally protected interest, a step he said the outlets did not get.
Trump announced the ban on 18 September, saying he was barring the three organisations over what he described as false and negative coverage. His lawyers later argued in court that the credentials were pulled because the outlets’ past reporting raised national security concerns.
The judge rejected that reasoning. Kelly wrote that the government offered little to back up its asserted national security interest, noting that nothing in the record before the lawsuit suggested the revocation was driven by such concerns, and that this was not the justification Trump gave when he announced the ban.
The outlets had filed a joint suit seeking the restraining order, arguing the ban violated the First Amendment, which protects press freedom. Court records list the matter as Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump, with the credentials revoked on 18 September.
The timing is notable. The ruling came hours before Trump was due to host Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, an event the barred outlets would ordinarily cover from the White House complex.
Kelly noted that the Justice Department had asked him to delay the order by at least two days, a request he declined. He also observed that temporary restraining orders of this kind are generally not open to appeal, though the wider case is still to be decided.
Trump signalled resistance before the ruling. In a social media post ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, he said he expected Kelly, whom he first nominated to the federal bench in 2017, to rule against him, and added that his side would appeal as usual.
The White House had not issued an immediate response to requests for comment on the overnight ruling, according to US news organisations covering the case.
For now, the order means journalists from the three outlets should be able to return to work at the White House while the underlying dispute continues. What happens after the 14 day window, and whether the administration mounts a fresh challenge once the temporary order lapses, remains to be settled by the court.