A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access to CNN, MSNBC and Politico, finding that reporters’ press badges had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.
The temporary restraining order, issued early Thursday by Judge Timothy Kelly, lasts for 14 days. It clears the way for the affected journalists to return to the White House, but does not resolve the broader legal challenge to President Trump’s ban. The outlets sued on Monday, alleging violations of the First and Fifth Amendments.
Kelly, a Trump appointee, found that the news organizations had demonstrated “a likelihood of success” on their Fifth Amendment procedural due process claim. Their badges had been deactivated without notice, an opportunity to contest the decision or an immediate avenue of appeal. Citing legal precedent, 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.” He also found a risk of irreparable harm if access was not restored immediately.
The judge was skeptical of the Justice Department’s argument that extraordinary national security circumstances justified the ban. Nothing in the record before the lawsuit suggested that national security had motivated the revocations, he said. When Trump announced the ban, he had instead complained about the outlets’ coverage—what the order described as their “alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity.”
Kelly also questioned the evidence offered to support the government’s position. A statement came from the Defense Department, rather than the White House, and the judge found no extraordinary event that had prompted an immediate security concern. CNN reporter Betsy Klein, for example, had her credential renewed after publication of a story the administration later cited as a national security problem.
The procedural issue has a close precedent. In 2018, Kelly ruled that the White House had improperly revoked then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s badge without due process. The relationship between the government and reporters covering it is not equivalent to an employer withdrawing an employee’s workplace access; constitutional protections and prior court decisions govern the process.
Ted Boutrous, lead counsel for the three outlets, welcomed the decision. “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process, and the rule of law,” he said in an overnight statement. “We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”
The First Amendment claims remain unresolved. Further proceedings could involve additional evidence and arguments about free speech, as well as the administration’s asserted national security concerns. No schedule for those next steps had been announced at the time of the report.
The ban also prompted a collective response beyond the three plaintiffs. Other members of the White House press corps withheld distribution of video and photographs in protest. Restoring access was expected to end that boycott, potentially bringing coverage back to normal as Trump prepared to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
The administration had publicly expressed frustration with the boycott. In a Tuesday appearance on Fox News, Caroline Leavitt said she had called network leaders to ask why they were not carrying the president’s remarks live. “Just let your audience decide how they feel about this,” she said, describing the networks’ editorial decisions as “scary stuff.”
CNN senior media analyst and Axios reporter Sarah Fisher described the coordinated resistance as a change from the first Trump administration, when news organizations were more hesitant to challenge the White House for fear of losing access or worsening relations. She pointed to lawsuits by the Associated Press against the White House and by The New York Times against the Defense Department as examples of a press corps more prepared to defend its ability to report.
What happens next remains uncertain. Trump had defended his position before the hearing, saying, “I think we have a right to clean out fake news.” The administration could continue the court fight or pursue other restrictions. For now, the order requires immediate restoration of the badges so reporters can return to the White House grounds, speak with sources and question the president when he takes questions.