BY DANIEL BAMPOE
A US federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to immediately restore White House press access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ruling that the president’s decision to exclude the three news organisations was likely unconstitutional.
US District Judge Tim Kelly issued the temporary order on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in a closely watched legal dispute over the Trump administration’s decision to bar the three outlets from the White House. The ruling prevents the administration from enforcing the ban for 14 days while the court considers the broader constitutional challenge.
The case marks another escalation in Trump’s long-running confrontation with sections of the US media and raises questions about the extent to which a president can control journalists’ access to the White House based on objections to their reporting.
The dispute began on September 18, when Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer be allowed to access the White House.
Trump accused the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he described as “fiction and lies”. His administration subsequently defended the restrictions by citing national-security concerns.
The ban was implemented the following day, when journalists from the three organisations were denied entry to the White House and had their press credentials deactivated.
The affected outlets rejected the decision and argued that their exclusion was linked to the content and editorial character of their reporting.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and members of his administration on September 21, arguing that the ban violated their constitutional protections.
The organisations invoked the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as well as due-process protections.
They asked the court to issue an immediate temporary restraining order restoring their access while the wider legal challenge proceeds.
The case was assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to the federal bench by Trump during his first presidency.
The judge said the record before him lacked factual support for the government’s contention that revoking the outlets’ White House press passes would protect national security.
He also found no demonstrated basis for the argument that allowing the journalists back into the White House while the lawsuit continued would itself create a national-security danger.
The judge’s conclusion contrasts with the administration’s legal position that access to the White House is a privilege rather than an entitlement and that the president has authority to suspend access by news organisations.
Beyond the First Amendment issue, the case also centres on whether the administration followed adequate procedures before removing the journalists’ credentials.
During a hearing on Wednesday, Kelly pointed to previous decisions from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit indicating that journalists are entitled to due process before their White House press passes can be revoked.
The judge questioned whether CNN, MS NOW and Politico had been given a meaningful opportunity to challenge the decision before their access was removed.
Lawyers representing the outlets argued that the journalists were excluded without adequate advance notice or an opportunity to contest the decision. They described the action as an unusually severe punishment for news organisations.
The Justice Department argued that the administration had provided adequate explanations in letters sent to the affected organisations.
