White House TV pool resumes after judge orders outlets reinstated

The White House network television pool resumed operations after CNN, MS NOW and Politico regained access following a dayslong ban, AP and KOMO reported. CNN and MS NOW returned for the final day of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit, according to The Independent.

On September 18, Trump abruptly announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, according to The Independent. The outlets said their journalists were denied entry the next morning, with some reporters asked to surrender their badges. They sued on September 21, arguing that the ban violated the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration on September 24 to temporarily restore the outlets’ press credentials, and their reporters regained White House access that afternoon. The Justice Department had argued that access to the White House was a privilege rather than a right and that Trump could restrict it on national-security grounds.

The dispute continued after the ruling. The White House excluded CNN from the rotating Air Force One press pool for Trump’s September 26 trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, replacing it with LindellTV, The Independent reported. Trump also criticized CNN and MS NOW in Truth Social posts, questioning why outlets whose coverage he considers false should be allowed into the White House.