Judge keeps CNN, Politico, MS NOW reporters in White House

A U.S. district judge in Washington extended his order late Tuesday that blocks the Trump administration from barring reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House while the outlets’ lawsuit proceeds.

Updated Oct. 14, 2026. This story is developing.

The preliminary injunction, issued Oct. 13, 2026, by Judge Timothy Kelly, keeps in place a temporary order that had been set to expire. It covers 78 reporters at the three outlets, the Associated Press reported via PBS NewsHour.

ABC News reported that the order requires the defendants to “continue to preserve the status quo while the case proceeds.” The outlets asked for the injunction.

Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, found that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are likely to succeed on their free speech and due process claims, the AP reported. He wrote that the outlets “are likely to suffer irreparable harm” without an injunction.

The judge also wrote that the ban “threatens to cut off all Plaintiffs’ access to the White House press area,” according to the AP. He said the White House gave no warning before imposing it, “to put it mildly,” and found the government’s national security arguments came after the fact and were unsupported.

Kelly also cautioned that “no one should interpret the Court’s decision to suggest that President Trump’s concerns about accuracy and fairness” are unfounded, the AP reported. He denied the government’s request to suspend his decision while it pursues an appeal.

Lawyers for the outlets called the ban “unprecedented and blatantly unconstitutional” under the First and Fifth amendments, the AP reported. Government lawyers argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right, and that the bans protect national security and limit misinformation. They wrote that “The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President,” according to the AP.

The Justice Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the AP reported.

Trump announced the bans in a Sept. 18 social media post that called the outlets’ reporting “fake news,” the AP reported. Kelly temporarily blocked them on Sept. 24 at the outlets’ request. KRDO reported at the time that the judge set the outlets’ bond at $1 and wrote that the administration’s national security explanations were “ambiguous.”

KRDO also reported that the Justice Department has asked the courts to overturn a 1977 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision on press credentials, arguing it “is wrong and should be overruled.” That question would arise only in later appeals.

A headline from The Washington Times on Oct. 14 said Trump has appealed the ruling. Canada News Media could not read that article or confirm the filing on the court docket, so the appeal is unconfirmed.

The case continues in U.S. District Court in Washington. Neither the outlets nor the government has announced the next court date.

Via the Associated Press, ABC News and KRDO.

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