Judge preserves White House access for CNN, Politico and MS NOW
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction keeping the three outlets' White House access in place while their constitutional challenge to President Trump's ban continues.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday, October 13, 2026, requiring the Trump administration to continue allowing CNN, Politico and MS NOW journalists to access the White House while the outlets' lawsuit proceeds. The new order replaces a shorter temporary restriction and keeps the administration from restoring President Donald Trump's ban during the litigation.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the news organizations had shown they were likely to succeed on claims that the administration engaged in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation. He also repeated his earlier conclusion that the outlets probably did not receive adequate due process before their White House hard passes were revoked. Kelly, whom Trump appointed to the federal bench during his first term, said the injunction preserves the status quo rather than deciding the lawsuit's final outcome.
The dispute began after Trump said CNN, Politico and MS NOW should lose White House access because he considered their coverage inaccurate and biased. The organizations sued, arguing that the government had punished them for editorial viewpoints protected by the First Amendment. Kelly initially ordered their credentials restored in September and later extended that temporary order while considering the request for longer-lasting relief.
In Tuesday's ruling, Kelly wrote that the available record indicated Trump selected the three organizations because of his objections to their coverage. The judge characterized that rationale as unlawful viewpoint discrimination. A preliminary injunction requires a court to assess, among other factors, the plaintiffs' likelihood of success and the risk of irreparable harm; it is not a final judgment that resolves every disputed fact or legal claim.
Justice Department lawyers had defended the restrictions by invoking national-security concerns, criticism of anonymous sourcing and the administration's contention that the outlets spread false information. Kelly said the record did not show that national security drove Trump's original decision to remove the passes. He nevertheless cautioned that the order did not declare concerns about media accuracy unfounded or prevent the government from taking properly supported steps to protect classified information.
The practical dispute extends beyond entry to the White House grounds. During the litigation, CNN and Politico reporters were also excluded from some travel on Air Force One even after the first court order restored their hard passes. Other television networks temporarily declined assigned press-pool duties after CNN was unable to take its turn, highlighting how access decisions involving one outlet can affect the shared system used to report on the president.
Ted Boutrous, a lawyer for the three organizations, welcomed the injunction and said the ban harmed the outlets, the First Amendment and the public. The Justice Department's arguments in court remain the administration's stated response to the challenge. The ruling does not give the news organizations a final victory, and the administration can continue defending the policy, seek appellate review or litigate the underlying constitutional claims.
For now, the immediate result is that CNN, Politico and MS NOW retain their White House access as the case moves forward. The next substantive stages will determine whether the preliminary constitutional findings become a permanent ruling and how much discretion the White House may exercise over press credentials when a decision is tied to the president's objections to coverage.
Sources and image credit
Independent reporting on the ruling and litigation: Reuters
Detailed report on the injunction and the parties' arguments: The Hill
Primary court record, including the October 13 preliminary-injunction order: CourtListener docket for Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump
Image: official White House photograph by Tia Dufour via Wikimedia Commons (March 26, 2020; public domain U.S. government work; cropped and resized to 16:9). The archival image shows Trump addressing reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room and does not depict the October 2026 court proceedings.
Original government photo page: The White House on Flickr