A Judge Just Forced the White House to Give CNN, Politico, and MS NOW Their Passes Back

Early Thursday (~1:30 AM ET), U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order telling the White House to immediately restore hard-pass credentials for CNN, Politico, and MS NOW. Trump banned the three outlets on Sept. 18 over "fake news"; Secret Service pulled their passes the next day.

Kelly did not need to reach the First Amendment claim. He held the outlets are likely to win on Fifth Amendment due process: under Sherrill v. Knight (1977) and Karem v. Trump (2020), a White House hard pass is a liberty interest. Revoking it without prior notice, a chance to respond, and published standards of conduct is unlawful. The White House's Tuesday letters inviting written contests by Friday do not cure a ban already executed. Kelly also called the national-security rationale thin — Trump's own announcement focused on negativity and "fake news," and the cited stories were "routine."

You can dislike CNN's coverage and still see the principle: once the government opens a press facility to bona fide reporters, it cannot yank access as punishment for the content of reporting. Viewpoint-based credentialing is how free-press systems rot. The TRO lasts 14 days while the case proceeds; Trump has already signaled an appeal.

Sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/judge-ruling-white-house-restore-access-media-ban-cnn-politico-ms-now-rcna599391 https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/24/tro-issued-ordering-reinstatement-of-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-white-house-access/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqm2mg34x2v7o