Federal judge orders White House to restore press access for CNN, MSNBC, and Politico

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's move to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House grounds, ordering their access restored in a ruling issued early Thursday. The decision marks the latest escalation in the president's conflict with media outlets he has criticized. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the outlets met the legal threshold for a 14-day temporary restraining order, finding they were likely to succeed in showing their press passes were revoked without due process. He rejected national security justifications, calling the White House's standard for objectionable reporting "so vague it hardly does the trick." Despite the ruling, reporters said Thursday morning they were again denied entry. Kelly, a Trump nominee who ordered a similar restoration in 2018, said he was bound by D.C. Circuit precedent. The White House did not immediately comment. Separately, an Iowa judge dismissed Trump's lawsuit against the Des Moines Register over poll coverage, and the White House said it would appeal.