Judge Blocks Trump's White House Press Ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ruling that the administration's revocation of their press credentials likely violated the outlets' constitutional rights.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly — himself appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term — granted a preliminary injunction in the 26-page ruling, allowing reporters from the three organisations to keep access to White House grounds while their lawsuit against the administration proceeds.

Kelly found that the ban likely violated the First and Fifth Amendments, writing that the president "likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him." The judge concluded the outlets had shown the revocation was retaliatory and amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Crucially, the judge rejected the Justice Department's argument that national security concerns at least partly motivated the decision. "There is no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke Plaintiffs' hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision," Kelly wrote.

The ruling builds on Kelly's earlier orders in the case. In a prior phase he had ordered the administration to reactivate the press badges on due-process grounds, finding the outlets had not been given fair notice of the rules before their access was revoked. His earlier temporary order blocking the ban was set to expire Tuesday; the new preliminary injunction keeps access in place while the case moves forward — and sets the stage for the administration to appeal.

The three outlets sued after the Trump administration announced restrictions on their reporters' access to the White House earlier this year. Kelly's finding — that the president's own comments about the outlets' coverage established "a likely causal link between Plaintiffs' protected First Amendment speech and his revocation of their hard passes" — puts press freedom at the centre of what is likely to become a landmark media case in the second Trump term.

Sources

• CNN: "Judge says Trump press ban likely violates First Amendment" (Oct 13, 2026)
• Lokmat Times: "US Judge blocks Trump's White House press ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico, cites likely First Amendment violation" (Oct 14, 2026)