File photo: Judge orders White House to restore CNN, MS NOW and Politico access
Kelly’s ruling extends his earlier decision blocking the ban, which was due to expire on Tuesday, and sets the stage for a possible appeal by the administration.
US district Judge Tim Kelly said Trump’s own public comments suggested that the ban was imposed in retaliation for reporting he considered inaccurate or biased against him. The judge said this established a likely link between the outlets’ protected speech and the revocation of their White House press passes. “President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him,” Kelly wrote in his order. He said there was no evidence that Trump had initially revoked the outlets’ press passes on national security grounds.
The judge, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, rejected the Justice Department’s argument that national security concerns had partly motivated the restrictions. A US federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to allow CNN, MS NOW and Politico to access the White House while their lawsuit against US president Donald Trump’s press ban proceeds, ruling that the restrictions likely violated the First Amendment.
Earlier reporting noted: U.S. judge backs CNN, MS Now, Politico access to White House A federal judge blocked on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) the White House from banning CNN , MS Now and Politico journalists, following U.S.
The judge said he took the government’s responsibility to protect classified information seriously, but found little evidence to support its national security argument in this case. He said letters explaining the ban, sent after the outlets filed their lawsuit, did not adequately remedy those shortcomings. He also noted that the administration had not submitted supporting material for the claim, even under seal for the court’s review. At a hearing last Thursday, Kelly had questioned the administration’s changing explanations for the ban. He noted that the president appeared to have publicly cited one set of reasons for the decision while government lawyers were now advancing another. The judge ruled that that the news organisations are likely to succeed on constitutional claims challenging the decision. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban the news outlets last month.
Kelly had previously ordered the administration to reactivate the outlets’ press passes on due process grounds, finding that they had not received fair notice of the rules before their access was revoked. Earlier reporting noted: White House media ban lifted: CNN, Politico and MS NOW reporters’ access restored by Trump appointed judge A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW journalists from White House grounds. Earlier reporting noted: US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, granted a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from restricting the outlets’ White House access while the lawsuit proceeds.