White House Restores Press Access After Court Order
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico regained access to the White House on Thursday after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s decision to revoke their press credentials. Their return followed a dispute over whether the administration had complied with the order earlier that morning.
The three outlets requested an emergency hearing, saying reporters had been turned away and Secret Service agents had confiscated additional press passes. In a court filing, the White House said it began restoring credentials at 7:25 a.m. Eastern time and provided a timeline of its actions. Judge Timothy Kelly had set a 12:30 p.m. deadline for the administration to respond.
Kelly’s 14-day temporary restraining order requires the outlets’ access to be reinstated unless the court orders otherwise. He found they were likely to succeed on a Fifth Amendment claim that their credentials had been revoked without adequate procedural protections. The ruling does not settle the lawsuit or determine whether the ban violated the First Amendment.
The administration has argued that the outlets received adequate notice and that the president’s actions were lawful. It also cited national security concerns. Kelly questioned that explanation, pointing to President Donald Trump’s public statements about the outlets’ reporting. Trump has indicated he wants to challenge any order blocking the ban.
The court plans expedited consideration of a preliminary injunction during the temporary order’s 14-day period. Law professor Eugene Volokh said a decision on that motion could then be appealed, while emergency relief may be harder to obtain. He noted that protections for reporters’ access to areas routinely open to the press may differ from general access to government buildings.
Other news organizations have expressed support for the plaintiffs. Television networks declined to replace CNN on a scheduled press-pool assignment, while some newspapers paused publication of White House pool photographs. Forty-nine media organizations also filed a brief opposing the ban.