Judge blocks Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico

Newyork,UPDATED: Sep 24, 2026 12:46 IST

A US federal judge early on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's move to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds, and ordered that their access be restored. The order came in the latest phase of an escalating clash between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly said the outlets had met the legal thresholds needed for a temporary restraining order, including showing they were likely to succeed on the merits of the case and would suffer irreparable harm without relief. He issued an order that will remain in effect for 14 days while the court takes a closer look at the case.

Trump had announced the ban on Friday, attacking what he called "fake news". More recently, he has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country. The three outlets argued that they were singled out because of the content of their coverage, which they said amounted to viewpoint discrimination, and called the ban a "blatant violation" of the First Amendment.

In his order, Kelly wrote, "This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it." Kelly, who was nominated by Trump in 2017 and ordered a CNN journalist's access restored in a similar case in 2018, had heard arguments on Wednesday and ended the hearing without ruling. Temporary restraining orders are typically meant to preserve the status quo while a court undertakes a more detailed review.

The White House did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. During Wednesday's emergency hearing, Kelly questioned whether the administration had met its legal responsibilities and whether it had given the outlets adequate due process before banning them. He said his decision had to be guided by earlier rulings in comparable First Amendment cases, even if the government disagreed with them.

Theodore Boutrous Jr, the lawyer for the outlets, told the court: "These are urgent matters," adding that there had been irreparable harm to the organisations at a time of major news developments. "We're at war. We have world leaders coming to Washington," he said. Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik repeated the administration's position that the president had the authority to decide who gets into the White House. "Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," Velchik said.

Arguing that Trump was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination, Velchik said the president had criticised other news organisations even more harshly, including calling ABC "the worst", without banning them. "The president should be able to take immediate action to protect national security," Velchik told the court. Boutrous replied, "Suddenly it's a national security case," and argued that the president raised that point only after the lawsuit was filed. Trump "keeps proving our point," Boutrous said, referring to what he described as the president's repeated use of negative coverage of him as a reason for the ban.

For now, the ruling means CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their White House access restored, as the court considers a broader challenge to Trump's decision to ban the three outlets.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends