A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday requiring the White House to restore hard‑pass credentials for CNN, MSNBC and Politico, but Secret Service agents turned the journalists away when they arrived. The order directly addresses the White House press passes that had been revoked.
Judge Timothy Kelly of the Southern District of New York granted the order after the three outlets sued, arguing that President Donald Trump's ban on their passes violated the First Amendment. The ban, announced Friday as a response to "fake news" and later defended on national‑security grounds, was deemed vague and not tied to any specific threat.
The restraining order directs the White House to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" the credentials. Instead, agents confiscated the passes early Thursday and denied the reporters entry to the West Wing. The outlets' lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking a hearing to enforce the ruling, saying the continued denial undermines the court’s authority and deprives the public of real‑time coverage of high‑stakes diplomatic events.
The dispute comes as President Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping and the United Nations General Assembly convenes in New York—an intensive diplomatic week that relies on timely media access to the president’s statements and meetings.
The Justice Department maintains that White House access is a privilege the president may revoke for security reasons. That justification was not part of the original ban announcement and only surfaced later, creating uncertainty about when the national‑security claim began.
Critics, including the BBC and The Guardian, call the ban likely unconstitutional. Media watchdogs warn that if the executive branch can ignore a federal restraining order, future credential decisions could be made without clear standards, threatening press freedom.
Editors at the three outlets reported that reporters had to rely on secondary sources and live feeds from other briefings, limiting the depth of coverage. The loss of direct access during this week hampers the public’s right to know about U.S. diplomatic strategy and international commitments.
Congressional leaders have been urged to clarify the legal standards governing press credentials, a move watchdog groups say is needed to prevent ambiguous rules from being used to sideline dissenting voices.
Judge Kelly is expected to hold a hearing on the emergency motion later this week. He may impose sanctions for non‑compliance or set a schedule for the administration to demonstrate concrete steps to restore the passes. Until the order is obeyed, CNN, MSNBC and Politico remain barred from the White House, and the administration’s stance may be tested in higher courts if the outlets pursue further relief.