US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday directing senior administration officials to immediately return and reinstate the outlets’ White House hard-pass credentials. The order blocks enforcement of the ban for 14 days unless the court orders otherwise while the organisations pursue their broader constitutional challenge.
Kelly said the record did not support the administration’s assertion that revoking the passes was necessary to protect national security. He noted that Trump had publicly tied the exclusion to what the president described as false and negative coverage, rather than to any identified security violation by the journalists.
The ruling followed a Wednesday hearing in Washington at which Kelly questioned whether the White House had provided the process required before suspending or revoking long-standing press access. He cited federal appellate precedents holding that journalists must receive notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond before a White House hard pass is withdrawn.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued on Monday after their journalists were denied entry to the White House complex and their credentials were taken following Trump’s September 18 announcement barring the organisations. Their complaint alleges violations of the First Amendment protections for speech and the press and the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process.
The organisations argued that the administration had punished them because of their editorial coverage and had acted without advance notice, a hearing or any established process for contesting the decision. They sought emergency relief to restore access while the litigation proceeds.
Justice Department lawyers defended the action by arguing that access to the White House is a privilege rather than a constitutional entitlement and that the president has authority to restrict entry. They also pointed to letters sent to the organisations on Tuesday that set out the administration’s reasons for withdrawing the passes.
Kelly was unpersuaded that those letters cured the procedural problem because they were issued after the credentials had already been revoked and after the lawsuit had been filed. During the hearing, he said existing case law appeared to require notice before deprivation of access and an opportunity for the affected journalist to be heard.
The judge also rejected, at this stage, the government’s contention that restoring the credentials would endanger national security. He said the record lacked factual support showing that reinstating the passes during the litigation would create such a risk.
Trump announced the ban in a social-media post, accusing the three organisations of publishing “fiction and lies” about his administration and saying other outlets could face similar treatment. The White House subsequently prevented journalists from the three organisations from entering the grounds, disrupting their routine coverage of presidential events.
The dispute prompted a wider response from news organisations and press-freedom groups. A coalition including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and dozens of media organisations filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs and arguing that government retaliation based on perceived editorial viewpoint conflicts with established constitutional protections.
Several television networks also suspended distribution of pool video coverage after the exclusions, increasing pressure on the White House over the practical consequences of the ban. The White House press pool is used to provide shared coverage when space or security arrangements limit the number of journalists who can attend presidential events.
Thursday’s order is temporary and does not resolve the underlying lawsuit. The court will still have to consider the organisations’ request for longer-lasting relief and the administration’s defence of its authority over access to the White House complex.
The case, Cable News Network, Inc. et al. v. Trump et al., was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Besides Trump, the defendants include White House communications director Steven Cheung, Secret Service director Sean Curran and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
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