Judge Orders White House to Restore Three Outlets’ Press Passes

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore White House press credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico for 14 days while their lawsuit proceeds, finding that the outlets were likely to succeed in arguing that their passes had been withdrawn without adequate due process. Journalists from all three organizations said they were nevertheless denied entry to the White House on Thursday, leaving the order’s implementation unclear. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued the temporary restraining order early Thursday, requiring the administration to return, reinstate and restore the affected hard-pass credentials unless the court changes the order. The ruling is preliminary and does not resolve the lawsuit’s constitutional claims. Kelly said the journalists had not received notice and a meaningful opportunity to challenge the decision before their credentials were deactivated or confiscated. He also questioned whether the administration had established clear standards for conduct that could lead to a pass being revoked. The ruling’s immediate basis was the likelihood of success on the due-process claim, rather than a final decision on the outlets’ broader allegations.