--- title: Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. What Happens Next? description: The outlets sued the Trump Administration over the ban this week, arguing it's a “direct assault” on the First Amendment. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/judge-overturns-trump-white-house-media-ban-temporary-order-appeal/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-09-24T12:18:51.957Z article:modified_time: 2026-09-24T12:18:52.160Z article:section: Politics og:title: Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. What Happens Next? og:description: The outlets sued the Trump Administration over the ban this week, arguing it's a “direct assault” on the First Amendment. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/judge-overturns-trump-white-house-media-ban-temporary-order-appeal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d04dda1040502a7/6ab5136f44523fb324b921ea/GettyImages-2288066602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 8640 og:image:height: 4860 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2288066602.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. What Happens Next? twitter:description: The outlets sued the Trump Administration over the ban this week, arguing it's a “direct assault” on the First Amendment. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d04dda1040502a7/6ab5136f44523fb324b921ea/GettyImages-2288066602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. What Happens Now? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=293db688-5c4a-4c7b-b7dd-1c519108fca6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Sep 24, 2026 12:18 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to media aboard Air Force One on Aug. 2, 2026. President Donald Trump speaks to media aboard Air Force One on Aug. 2, 2026. Aaron Schwartz—Getty Images by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Sep 24, 2026 12:18 PM UTC A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to immediately [restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico](https://time.com/article/2026/09/21/cnn-ms-now-politico-to-sue-trump-administration-over-white-house-ban/) journalists after the President issued a media ban last week. In a District of Columbia court, Judge Timothy Kelly [issued](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28679441-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-restore-white-house-access-to-cnn-ms-now-and-politico/?mode=document&q=ted) a temporary restraining order of 14 days against the ban, saying it “likely violated” the media outlets’ “constitutional due process rights.” The order came in response to a [lawsuit](https://www.politico.com/f/?id=000001a0-c343-d2df-a1f4-f7cf04bf0000) filed against the Trump Administration by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico on Monday, in which the outlets argued the ban was a “direct assault” on the First Amendment and violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights. In a significant setback for Trump, the court ordered that journalists from the banned media outlets should have their White House access reinstated “until further order of the court or the expiration of this temporary restraining order.” In a statement to TIME, Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the news outlets, said “this is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.” TIME has approached the White House and Justice Department for comment. Outlining his ruling, Kelly said the outlets had “shown a likelihood of success, at least on their Fifth Amendment procedural due process claim.” The [Fifth Amendment ](https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-v)protects Americans from being “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Kelly determined that the outlets were “likely to succeed in showing that their hard passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.” The judge also rejected the Trump Administration's assertion that the media ​ban was motivated by “national security” concerns. “Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ plaintiffs from the WhiteHouse—instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of plaintiffs’ reporting,” Kelly wrote, referencing [Trump’s “fake news” reasoning](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117293599348325006). The Justice Department, in a [legal filing](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28672112-doj-response-in-cnn-v-trump/) on Tuesday said the outlets had “received adequate notice” of the ban (a point contested by Kelly) and insisted “the President’s actions are lawful under the First Amendment.” There has been an outpouring of solidarity among other media outlets in light of the ban. CNN, one of five U.S. news outlets in the White House press pool that rotates responsibility for pooled live video coverage, was scheduled to cover Trump's trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday. When they were restricted from doing so, other major television networks declined to replace CNN’s pool crew. In a rare joint statement, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC [said](https://time.com/article/2026/09/21/cnn-ms-now-politico-to-sue-trump-administration-over-white-house-ban/): “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No Administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.” In a further show of support, some media publications—including the New York _Times_ and Washington _Post_—announced they would hold off on publishing or distributing still photographs taken as part of the White House pool coverage. On Wednesday, 49 media organizations [filed a legal brief](https://www.rcfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-23-RCFP-amicus-brief-in-CNN-v.-Trump.pdf) voicing their support of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. “Stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence and is impermissible in any type of forum, including the White House,” the brief argued. ### What happens next? Ahead of Thursday’s order, Trump dismissed the legal challenge and indicated he regretted appointing Judge Kelly in 2017\. Vowing to fight any legal block on his ban, Trump [insisted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117310724294153031): “Almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal, because fake news people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our national security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the \[Oval Office\].” However, in the court filing, Kelly has stated that “temporary restraining orders are generally unappealable.” Instead, during the 14-day period, the court “will set a schedule for expedited briefing on a motion for a preliminary injunction,” allowing Trump and the media outlets to submit further evidence for Kelly to consider. Trump, during his first term, [revoked](https://time.com/5454502/white-house-response-cnn-lawsuit/) the White House press credentials of Jim Acosta, who was then a CNN correspondent, after a tense exchange during a news conference. CNN challenged the decision in court and it was Judge Kelly [who ordered the White House to reinstate ](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/16/media/cnn-trump-lawsuit-hearing)the reporter’s press pass. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/judge-overturns-trump-white-house-media-ban-temporary-order-appeal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/judge-overturns-trump-white-house-media-ban-temporary-order-appeal/"},"headline":"Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. 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