On Friday, Sept. 18, President Donald Trump banned national news stations CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from the White House. Reporters couldn’t access their workspaces in the White House or use television equipment on the grounds. All passes were deactivated; credentials were confiscated. These outlets filed an emerging First Amendment Lawsuit to restore access, asking the court to act immediately and emphasizing the importance of press freedom to the public interest, according to CNN.
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets stated in their joint lawsuit.
On the other hand, Trump posted on his social media page that the White House is not trying to violate the First Amendment; they are instituting an assault on Fake News.
“It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped NOW,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Monday morning.
The White House sent letters to each banned news outlet identifying stories that spread falsehoods or threatened national security by publishing sensitive and classified information. According to The New York Times, presidents have a history of favoring some journalists over others, and Trump claims he is following that trend.
The Department of Justice said in a court filing on Tuesday, “Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right.”
According to the banned outlets, the lawsuits against the news outlets were vague, and it was unconstitutional to ban them just because Trump doesn’t like “negative stories.”
Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court in Washington blocked Trump’s ban on Wednesday night. Requiring the administration to immediately reinstate the “hard-pass” press credentials of the three news organizations, he declared that the White House lacked factual support for the claim that revoking the credentials protected national security, according to the New York Times.
Despite this, reporters from the three news outlets were denied access on Thursday.
During Trump’s first term, officials suspended CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta because he kept speaking and clung to the microphone even after Trump made it clear he was moving on to another reporter, according to Politico. Kelly, who also handled this case, ordered his access restored.
Last Year, Trump barred the Associated Press from attending East Room events. This small group of reporters was given access to sensitive locations the president routinely visits.
Trump’s actions followed AP’s refusal to adopt the newly named Gulf of America, after he signed an executive order changing the name from the Gulf of Mexico on Jan. 20, 2025. A federal judge ruled in AP’s favor, according to Politico.
Other major news outlets such as ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and FOX News have suspended coverage of the White House, creating an ongoing media boycott. After that, the White House launched its own 24-7 streaming service, Trump TV. The channel aims to cover Trump’s “greatest hits that the media fails to cover fairly, oftentimes on purpose,” a White House official told Axios.