In a significant rebuke to the Trump administration, a federal judge ordered the White House to reinstate press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, hours after the outlets were initially blocked from the grounds. The ruling, issued late Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, came in response to an emergency lawsuit filed by the three news organizations, which argued that the president's ban violated their First Amendment and due process rights.
Judge Kelly, a Trump appointee, wrote in his opinion that the administration did not dispute that the outlets were denied notice and a hearing before their hard passes were revoked. He ordered the White House to restore access "immediately." Despite that directive, reporters and photographers were still turned away early Thursday morning, prompting attorney Theodore Boutrous to file an urgent motion with the court, stating that "time is of the essence."
Boutrous noted that CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pool for President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House that evening, making the delay particularly consequential. "The administration has already repeatedly violated the Court's Order," he argued.
The White House press office eventually confirmed that it began restoring access at 7:25 a.m. Thursday, with Secret Service indicating that badges were reactivated by 9:07 a.m. The confiscated credentials were turned over to the Secret Service at 9:55 a.m. and distributed to the affected reporters just after noon, according to a court filing.
The president had barred the outlets last week, accusing them of publishing "fake news" and alleging that their reporting endangered national security. The Department of Justice echoed that justification in court filings, but press freedom groups and political observers widely condemned the move, predicting that the judiciary would side with the media.
Neither the White House nor President Trump has commented publicly on the judge's ruling. Trump, however, took to social media earlier this week to express skepticism about his chances, writing that "almost without question and, as usual, we'll go for appeal because Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown 'sources,' shouldn't be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World."
The judge's order is valid for 14 days, leaving the administration time to decide whether to appeal. This legal battle unfolds alongside the high-stakes summit between Trump and Xi, with the president's handling of press access drawing bipartisan criticism. The lavish welcome for Xi has already sparked concern among lawmakers from both parties, who see the press ban as an erosion of democratic norms.
The restoration of credentials does not resolve the underlying constitutional questions, and the case is likely to continue. For now, reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are back on the White House beat, but the broader tension between the administration and the press remains unresolved. As the president weighs an appeal, the fate of press freedom in the Trump era hangs in the balance.
