A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, temporarily blocking President Donald Trump’s ban while the news organisations’ constitutional challenge proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly directed the administration to return the outlets’ press passes immediately and barred enforcement of the restriction for 14 days. The order is a temporary restraining order, not a final judgment on the legality of the policy.
Kelly found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims under the First and Fifth Amendments. Existing appellate precedent, he said, requires fair procedure before a White House press credential can be revoked. The letters offered by the administration came after access had already been withdrawn and after the lawsuit was filed.
The judge also rejected the present record as a basis for the government’s national-security explanation. He noted that public statements connected the ban to the president’s view that the outlets’ reporting was false and negative, while the government had not shown that restoring the passes during the litigation would endanger security.
The Justice Department argues that entry to the White House is a privilege and that the president may suspend access. The three organisations say they were punished for editorial viewpoint without notice or a meaningful opportunity to respond.
The immediate effect is narrow but concrete: the credentials must be restored for the duration of the order. The case itself remains open, and the court has not issued a permanent injunction. Further briefing will determine whether the temporary protection is extended, replaced with longer relief or dissolved.
This report updates CourtsCast’s earlier account of Wednesday’s hearing. Kelly’s questions then suggested constitutional concern; Thursday’s written order converted that concern into provisional relief while preserving the merits for later decision.
