Trump bans three outlets from White House access, citing ‘fake news’

Reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW regained access to the White House midday on Sept. 24, 2026, after being repeatedly denied entry to the complex throughout the morning. The back-and-forth followed an overnight ruling by a federal judge temporarily setting aside an administration ban and restoring access for the outlets.

The initial denials prompted the news operations to request an emergency hearing for noncompliance. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly told the White House that it had until 12:30 p.m. to respond.

Starting around noon, media reports stated that the journalists were once again allowed into the White House complex and had resumed their reporting duties.

In an on-air broadcast, CNN White House correspondent Betsy Klein said, “Very happy to be getting back to work here.” Similarly, MS NOW reporter Laura Barrón-López said on air, “I was just allowed back into the White House through the northwest gate.”

Attorneys for the administration, in a declaration submitted to the court, laid out the timeline leading to this morning’s reinstated access, and stated the confiscated press credentials were available for pickup at 9:55 a.m. However, media reports indicated that journalists were still being denied after 11 a.m.

CNN reported that White House staff were unsure how to respond to the overnight ruling, possibly leading to confusion that caused the reporters’ continued lack of access. An unnamed White House official said, “It’s chaotic, no idea,” when asked about plans to reinstate access.

The morning’s disarray occurred amid a high-profile state visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House, which the network TV pool members had refused to broadcast, in solidarity with the banned outlets.

Later that evening, two CNN journalists and an MS NOW reporter were denied entry at the arrival ceremony for a state dinner for Xi. According to CNN, the White House allowed in only its photojournalist and audio technician, excluding its reporter and producer, even though reporters and producers from other television networks were permitted at the event.

By Sept. 25, however, TV pool coverage was set to resume, reported The New York Times, ending an effective boycott by the five networks that share responsibility for TV coverage of the president.

The judge informed the outlets that they had until Sept. 28 to file for a preliminary injunction of the ban and would set a hearing date in early October to further adjudicate the matter.

Correction and update: This report has been revised to reflect a Sept. 28 filing date for a preliminary injunction, rather than Sept. 26. The story has also been updated to reflect subsequent developments regarding ongoing access issues, as well as the resumption of the TV pool.

CNN, Politico and MS NOW remain barred from the White House on Sept. 24, 2026, despite an overnight ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily restoring access to the complex after a Trump administration ban.

Journalists from the outlets were first refused entry to the White House on Sept. 19 after President Donald Trump announced the ban on Truth Social the day prior.

The outlets sued on Sept. 21, saying that the ban was a violation of the First Amendment’s protections against retaliatory government actions and viewpoint discrimination.

In Sept. 22 filings opposing the restraining order, the administration characterized press access to White House as a “privilege—not a right,” an argument its attorney reiterated at an emergency hearing before the district court on Sept. 23.

In defense of the ban, the administration also asserted that the outlets had violated standards of conduct and published stories that threatened national security.

“The President concluded that they have failed to maintain basic minimum ‘standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House Complex, including’ by ‘publishing sensitive or classified information,’” attorneys wrote in its filing.

The administration also submitted to the court letters sent to each of the outlets on Sept. 22 formally informing them of their revoked credentials and listing published articles that the administration had perceived as having “threatened national security and/or spread falsehoods.”

These included articles on the war in Iran, such as CNN’s reporting on low munition stockpiles; administration affairs, such as an MS NOW article on a leak investigation; and campaign events, such as a Politico story on the recent GOP midterm convention in Dallas.

The letters also informed the outlets that they had until Sept. 25 to appeal the revocations.

At a Sept. 23 hearing, the lawyer representing the outlets, Theodore J. Boutrous, called the ban “unprecedented, unreasonable and severe punishment” and focused his arguments on a lack of due process in the rollout of the ban.

Administration attorney Michael Velchik stressed the president’s right to take “immediate action to defend national security” and argued that the outlets had in fact been offered due process by the post-action letters giving them a Sept. 25 deadline to answer.

But in his Sept. 24 ruling granting the temporary restraining order, District Judge Timothy J. Kelly wrote that the outlets were likely to succeed in their suit and emphasized that circumstances were not “so extraordinary” that national security concerns could trump due process.

The temporary restraining order is set to expire in 14 days, but meanwhile requires the administration to restore press credentials for the affected outlets.

Boutrous celebrated the order, telling CNN: “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”

However, Politico reported that one of its reporters was refused entry to the White House on the morning of the ruling and that his press credentials were confiscated.

CNN and MS NOW also reported that some of their reporters were not allowed access to the complex, according to The Guardian. It was not immediately clear why the reporters had been denied entry.

Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the continued barring of the reporters.

“The administration was rightly given the back of the hand by Judge Kelly for claiming routine reports harm ‘national security,’ but court orders are just paper unless they’re enforced. Enough is enough. Government officials who continue to deny journalists’ access to the White House in defiance of Kelly’s order should be held in contempt,” he said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.