The judge who ordered the White House to restore reporters’ press credentials overnight isn’t waiting around to see if his order continues to be ignored.
Thursday morning, reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away at Secret Service checkpoints despite U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s after-midnight restraining order requiring their access be restored. CNN’s Betsy Klein was told she wasn’t in the system and a photojournalist’s badge was seized; MS NOW’s Laura Barron-Lopez found her hard pass listed as “disabled” and confiscated; and a Politico reporter’s credentials were also taken at the gate.
The renewed blockade prompted Kelly to demand answers. Politico’s Kyle Cheney reported on X: “JUST IN: Judge Kelly has ordered the Trump administration to address concerns by 12:30pm the WH/USSS is violating his order to restore media access to the White House.”
It’s the latest twist in a legal fight Trump keeps losing. Kelly, a Trump appointee, ruled hours earlier that the outlets showed a “high likelihood of success” on their claim that their hard passes were pulled without due process, and said he was “skeptical” the administration’s stated national security concerns were its real motivation for the ban.
The outlets are expected to head back to court if the administration doesn’t comply by Kelly’s deadline, setting up another test of whether the White House will actually follow a federal judge’s order or keep daring him to enforce it.
JUST IN: Judge Kelly has ordered the Trump administration to address concerns by 12:30pm the WH /USSS is violating his order to restore media access to the White House. — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 24, 2026
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