Reporters denied White House entry after court order; credentials confiscated before access restored

September 24, 2026 · Updated through afternoon reporting

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied entry to the White House on Thursday morning after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore their press credentials. The outlets requested an emergency hearing, reporting in a court filing that a Secret Service agent had also confiscated journalists’ credentials that morning. [1]

President Trump announced the ban on September 18, blaming coverage he described as “fake news.” His administration later argued that the reporting threatened national security. [2]

Judge Timothy Kelly found the outlets likely to succeed on their Fifth Amendment due-process claim because their credentials had been revoked without adequate notice or an opportunity to respond. He also found that the existing record lacked factual support showing how revoking their passes would protect national security. The 14-day order provides temporary relief while the lawsuit—including its First Amendment claims—continues. [3, pp. 2–8]

By early afternoon, reporters from all three outlets had regained access. The administration said reinstating the badges took time. That later restoration updates the story without erasing the earlier post-order denials and reported confiscations. [2]

Sources and method

This focused report covers the September 18 ban and September 24 court order, post-order denials and subsequent restoration. It uses the full eight-page order in Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-03287-TJK, Document 24, and updated Associated Press reporting. The account of credential confiscation and the administration’s implementation explanation are attributed to filings described by AP; those separate filings were not independently read. Existing local reporting was searched for relevant background. This is not a full docket review or a final determination of the pending First Amendment claims.

Precision: The order directs the administration defendants and their agents to restore credentials, expressly excluding President Trump personally from that directive. The later restoration means an ongoing refusal is not the latest reported status.

Unresolved: Final merits, subsequent orders and the complete factual record concerning the delay remain outside this report’s cutoff.