Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House press room this weekend following the announcement of a “ban” on the national news outlets late Friday by President Donald Trump. The groups filed a lawsuit against the government on Monday, claiming the restriction is an affront to their First Amendment rights.
President Trump announced that the outlets were banned in a post on Truth Social, his personal social media platform, “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS [sic],” on Friday.
The three media outlets’ journalists were reportedly denied access and had their press passes confiscated on Saturday morning.
The president has not cited specific stories or reporting that he disagreed with in connection to the ban, but warned that other publications and outlets could be additionally barred based on their coverage.
“Media outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States…Other Fake News media outlets to follow,” the president’s post said.
When asked on Monday, Vice President JD Vance said that the move did not constitute a “ban,” suggesting instead that the outlets were provided “special access” to the White House as part of their everyday reporting activities.
“He’s not banning media outlets […] If you’re going to engage in what is essentially far-left propaganda, why would a Republican White House give you special access?” Vance said.
In a pointed remark, Trump himself called the unprecedented act a “ban on the free press” at an event in the Oval Office shortly after he posted the message, saying of the outlets in his opinion, “…the ban is because they are fake news. They cannot write the truth.”
Throughout his political tenure, Trump has repeatedly used the term “fake news” to describe reporting he dislikes, and his statements appear to conflate viewership ratings with an outlet’s journalistic integrity.
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the media companies’ lawsuit states.
The Constitution, the three news outlets said in the lawsuit, “does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty…based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.”
The case also references the Fifth Amendment, which provides that “no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” since the organization’s press passes were revoked without providing notice or “clear standards for [the] decision.”
“We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report on the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor,” a CNN statement on the matter said. “CNN stands fully behind our White House team.”
As a result of the restrictions, live broadcast reports for the outlets were conducted on nearby sidewalks, and pool coverage, originally assigned to CNN, was suspended on Monday.
In a rare show of solidarity, the White House TV press pool — a cooperative of outlets which share footage and producing duties — said it would not continue covering the President’s events marked for pool coverage.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the joint statement from ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC said.
The substance of Trump’s movements may continue to be covered, but pool content and material provided by the administration directly won’t be seen.
In a show of support, the radio and print pools have also voluntarily suspended their use of pool feeds.
The apparent banning of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House reporting is just the latest in Trump’s brushes with the press corps.
In 2018, Trump’s office revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s credentials over his reporting — and in 2025, he had Associated Press journalists and photographers removed from the press pool after continuing to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of “Gulf of America”.
In both cases, federal lawsuits overturned the decisions, citing earlier court rulings that found the government cannot deny journalists a press pass without due process.
“As the D.C. Circuit has long held, the interest that members of the press have in their White House hard passes is ‘protected by the first amendment’ and ‘undoubtedly qualifies as liberty which may not be denied without due process of law under the fifth amendment,'” the recent lawsuit said.
Trump also has, on numerous occasions, lashed out and verbally accosted reporters – including repeated incidents with female journalists – and has launched legal action against many news outlets, including the New York
Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC and ABC, all over perceived defamation.
Many believe banning media outlets over their coverage is a step too far, if not unsurprising.
“I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, ‘You know what, Fox News, you’re out of here!'” former President Barack Obama said at a speaking engagement on Sunday. “It’s unimaginable!”
“The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Jacqui Heinrich, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, told the AP.
The lawsuit is set to be heard by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly via videoconference on Wednesday, according to MS NOW. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, also presided over the Acosta press pass case.