Judge Blocks Trump White House Press Ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Tuesday night extended an order blocking the Trump administration from banning reporters for CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House complex, ruling the outlets are likely to win their constitutional claims at trial.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to his seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by President Trump, issued the preliminary injunction after a hearing in which the administration argued the ban was partly grounded in national security. According to a report by NBC News, Kelly rejected that rationale in a 26-page opinion, writing that there is "practically nothing national security-related in the record connected to the President's decision to revoke Plaintiffs' hard passes to which the Court can defer."

The ruling, dated Oct. 14, replaces a temporary restraining order Kelly had issued last month. According to CNBC's review of the opinion, Kelly found that Trump's own public statements undercut the administration's position. "President Trump's own comments suggest that he intended the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes to alter their reporting on him," Kelly wrote.

Kelly found the three outlets likely to succeed on First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint-discrimination claims, as well as a separate due process claim, according to reporting by CNBC. The injunction orders the administration to preserve the status quo while the underlying lawsuit is resolved.

The ruling does not, however, compel the administration to grant CNN or Politico reporters access to the Oval Office or Air Force One, locations from which the administration has separately blocked those outlets in recent weeks, NBC News reported.

The Department of Justice, arguing the case on behalf of the administration, defended the ban by citing specific stories from each outlet it said violated "standards of professionalism and decorum," according to ABC News. DOJ lawyer Michael Velchik argued last month that Trump holds broad authority to remove outlets based on national security determinations. "Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," Velchik said, as reported by ABC News and Regional Media News.

Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the three media organizations, praised the ruling. In a statement obtained by ABC News, Boutrous said the court "was right to enjoin the White House from enforcing this 'unconstitutional ban on the free press' for the foreseeable future."

Kelly did include a caveat in his order, writing that "no one should interpret the Court's decision to suggest that President Trump's concerns about accuracy and fairness in the media's reporting are unfounded," according to PBS NewsHour's review of the opinion.

The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, PBS NewsHour reported. The Trump administration had previously appealed Kelly's temporary restraining order. It was not immediately clear Tuesday night whether the administration intended to appeal the preliminary injunction.

Sources cited:
- NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/prewrite-not-pub-judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-white-house-media-rcna602264)
- CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/14/trump-white-house-msnow-cnn-politico-media-ban.html)
- ABC News (https://abcnews.com/Politics/federal-judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-continuing-block-trumps/story?id=137247889)
- PBS NewsHour (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-from-banning-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-reporters-from-white-house)
- Regional Media News (https://www.regionalmedianews.com/news/national/politics/federal-judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-continuing-to-block-trumps-white-house-media-ban/)