Here's the latest
• Access restored: CNN has been allowed back into the White House after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate press badges for CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
• Request for hearing: The three outlets filed an emergency request this morning for a hearing after some staff were denied access to the White House despite the judge’s ruling. A judge had ordered the Trump administration overnight to temporarily reinstate their access to the White House after the outlets were banned from the premises by President Donald Trump.
• Access denied: CNN reporter Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were earlier denied access to the White House grounds despite multiple attempts to enter the grounds this morning.
Trump gives away the game with his comment about friendly Chinese reporters
The administration’s lawyers have been arguing in court that President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban media members isn’t about politics, but rather is about national security.
But a comment Trump made during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit would seem to get at his real goal: acquiescence.
According to the White House pool report, Trump “made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.” The Associated Press reported that Trump also remarked on how Chinese reporters ask Xi for permission to speak.
There is, of course, a reason for that. And it’s that China is an authoritarian country with repressive restrictions on free speech and the press.
This isn’t the first time Trump has seemed envious of authoritarian leaders wielding such power. He has frequently praised them.
And he’s made some remarkable comments about how they treat journalists.
Back in 2019 at the G20 summit in Japan, Trump said to Russian leader Vladimir Putin of the assembled press: “Get rid of them. Fake news is a great term, isn’t it? You don’t have this problem in Russia, but we do.”
And in 2015, Trump responded dismissively to a question about the murders of journalists who criticized Putin.
“He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, you know, unlike what we have in this country,” Trump said, referring to then-President Barack Obama.
When pressed, Trump ultimately agreed that he would condemn Putin’s crackdown on journalists, saying, “Oh sure, absolutely.”
Trump quips that China has the friendliest press corp
President Donald Trump quipped Thursday that the Chinese had the friendliest press corps during a photo spray with Chinese photographers — the same day the White House repeatedly denied US reporters access to the grounds despite a court order.
“US and Chinese photographers were separated from the pool and brought in for two sprays with the president, according to two of the photographers who were present,” according to a White House print pool report. “During the second spray, Trump made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.”
Chinese state media was at the White House covering Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit. CNN, MS NOW and Politico were repeatedly denied entry after Trump banned the three outlets last week, but were ultimately let back in around noon Thursday due to a court order.
White House tells court that press badges have been reactivated
The head of the White House’s press operation said in a court filing Thursday afternoon that press badges for journalists from the three news outlets that had been banned from the grounds have been reactivated.
The declaration from press shop director Micah Stopperich lays out a timeline for when the White House and Secret Service began complying with a judge’s order to restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, although it appears to contradict the on-the-ground experience of journalists.
As late as 11 a.m. ET, CNN and MS NOW journalists were denied entry, however, contradicting the White House’s declaration. All three outlets have now been allowed in, as of 12:29 p.m ET.
According to Stopperich, the White House was notified at 7:10 am ET that it should start restoring access and began the process of reactivating the badges 15 minutes later. Secret Service confirmed the badges were turned back on at 9:07 am ET and began looking for badges that it had confiscated around that time, according to the filing. The confiscated badges were left at the gate entry for pick up at 9:55 am ET.
Judge Tim Kelly had requested that the administration respond to allegations made by the outlets in court Thursday morning that their journalists were still being denied entry to the White House.
Politico gains access to White House grounds
Politico has gained access to the White House grounds after it was earlier denied entry.
Now, all three outlets originally banned by the White House, MS NOW, CNN and Politico, are inside the campus.
Crowd gathers around CNN reporter as she returns to White House grounds
A crowd of press gathered around CNN reporter Betsy Klein as she prepared for her first television appearance moments after she was let back onto the White House grounds, taking photos and videos of the moment.
CNN was allowed back into the White House on Thursday around noon after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate its access hours earlier. Klein was previously denied access multiple times as she tried to enter the complex on Thursday morning.
CNN allowed back into White House after judge orders Trump admin to reinstate press badges
CNN was allowed back into the White House on Thursday at noon after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate its access.
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly ruled overnight that the administration’s revocation of press badges from journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico was done without “constitutionally adequate due process.”
CNN reporter Betsy Klein was allowed to reenter the White House on Thursday. She was previously denied access despite multiple attempts to enter the complex on Thursday morning. A photojournalist was also earlier denied access.
After some staff were denied entry, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed an emergency request for a hearing.
It comes after President Donald Trump announced last Friday that he was banning the three outlets from the White House.
Court order to restore media access prompts internal chaos at White House, sources say
Multiple White House advisers and officials said Thursday that they had no idea what the plan was after CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters were repeatedly denied entry to the White House despite a court order — describing a sense of internal chaos.
One official said they had tried to get clarity from senior officials on their stance but questions went unanswered.
“It’s chaotic, no idea,” the official said about potential plans to reinstate the media outlets’ access. Since the court order was issued, a CNN reporter was denied entry to the White House multiple times throughout the day.
Another White House official said they were completely unaware of what was happening. And an adviser to the president echoed that sentiment, adding that they had been unable to get answers on why the reporters were being denied access.
Meanwhile, the timing of the ban is causing angst among Chinese and US officials during leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, DC. While the state visit would typically prompt extensive TV coverage, the networks have pulled TV pool duties due to the ban and are largely not airing any video.
Chinese officials had privately expressed concern to some of Trump’s advisers that the current pool ban would negatively impact how the trip was covered, one source told CNN. The issue has also worried White House officials, who know both Trump and Xi wanted robust coverage of the summit, another adviser said.
CNN reporter has once again been denied access to the White House
CNN reporter Betsy Klein tried for a fourth time to access the White House on Thursday but was once again denied entry to the grounds in the last hour.
It comes as lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico requested an emergency hearing after some staff were refused entry to the White House this morning despite a judge’s order for the Trump administration to immediately restore their press badges.
MS NOW also reported that they were denied access again in the 11:00 a.m. ET hour.
President Donald Trump announced last Friday that he was banning the three outlets from the White House.
The Trump administration has frequently tested court orders
The Trump administration has a long history of testing court orders, with dozens of judges finding it has failed to comply with them in the past.
The administration has insisted that it follows court orders. But an Associated Press review back in May found that US district court judges ruled the administration had violated court orders in at least 31 lawsuits over the first 15 months of Trump’s second term. That included cases involving government employee layoffs, spending cuts and deportations.
Perhaps the most prominent example came in March 2025, when the administration failed to abide by US District Judge James Boasberg’s oral order instructing it not to continue with flights deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. Boasberg found there was probable cause to find the government in criminal contempt, but a federal appeals court later ordered him to end his inquiry. That case is ongoing.
Another US district judge, George W. Bush appointee Patrick Schiltz, found what he said were more than 200 instances of the administration violating immigration-related court orders. He at one point summoned the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to court for contempt proceedings.
A whistleblower last year also alleged that a former top official in the Trump Justice Department, Emil Bove, told DOJ officials that they may need to consider ignoring court orders. The administration cast doubt on those allegations, but seemed to issue carefully worded defenses.
Bove was later confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate as an appeals-court judge.
Chinese state media at the White House as three US outlets still denied entry
Chinese state media is at the White House today covering leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington while three US outlets request an emergency hearing to regain access to the White House.
CNN witnessed state media on the White House campus today, at one point filing into the press briefing room and taking pictures at the podium.
It comes as some journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico are still unable to enter the White House complex despite a ruling that ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate their press badges.
Chinese state media is tightly controlled and the government routinely limits press access. The White House recently downplayed any comparisons between Chinese press restrictions and President Donald Trump’s media ban.
“There is no comparison,” deputy White House press secretary Taylor Rogers told Spectrum News when asked whether the press office has any concerns about the message Trump’s ban sends to China.
Trump admin has "repeatedly violated" court order, media outlets' lawyers say
Lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico said that the Trump administration has “already repeatedly violated the Court’s Order” as they requested a hearing be held “as soon as possible” today.
It comes after the White House denied entry to some of the three outlets’ journalists despite a judge’s order ordering the administration to restore their press badges.
“This morning journalists from each of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO attempted to enter the White House and were turned away,” attorneys for the media outlets wrote, “and Secret Service agents confiscated the hard pass of journalists whose hard passes had not previously been confiscated.”
Conor Fitzpatrick, the chief supervising attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said in a statement that the White House refusing Federal Judge Timothy Kelly’s order would be “a dangerous escalation and an affront to the rule of law.”
The request for an emergency hearing comes during a busy news day at the White House. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to arrive to the White House soon, but the major networks comprising the White House TV pool have suspended their normal coverage duties in solidarity with the outlets.
Senate GOP leader says White House needs to “follow the court order” on press access
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that the White House needs to “follow the court order” when asked about some reporters still being denied entry.
“I think you follow the court order, yeah. I mean, you can appeal. Obviously, there’s a process,” the South Dakota Republican said. “I don’t know if this is a processing issue. I don’t know if that’s been defined yet. But yeah, no, they need to follow the court order.”
CNN, MS NOW and Politico file emergency request for a hearing
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed an emergency request for a hearing Thursday morning after being refused access to the White House despite a court order.
The news outlets are requesting a new hearing be held in their lawsuit against the Trump administration, after some reporters were denied entry to the White House following Judge Timothy Kelly’s order early Thursday morning temporarily reinstating their access.
Despite Kelly’s order, finding in part that the administration didn’t give notice or an opportunity to appeal the ban before it was announced late last week, some journalists, including two from CNN, were still denied access to the White House.
The White House has not said why it the journalists are still being denied entry.
Some CNN, MS NOW and Politico staff refused entry to White House
Some CNN, MS NOW and Politico staff were unable to gain access to the White House early Thursday morning even after a judge ordered that the Trump administration “shall immediately return, reinstate, and restore” their press badges.
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly said in an order just before 1:00 am Thursday morning that the administration’s revocation of press badges from journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico was done without “constitutionally adequate due process.”
CNN reporter Betsy Klein and a photojournalist, however, were denied access to the White House grounds Thursday morning. One CNN producer was able to enter the White House using their pass after 6:00 am. It was not immediately clear why the person was able to enter the building.
Reporters from MS NOW and Politico were also barred from entering the building early Thursday morning, according to the outlets.
The White House has provided no details as to why the journalists were not admitted.
Klein was first denied access to the grounds on Saturday, and her press pass was seized.
It comes after President Donald Trump announced last Friday that he was banning the three outlets from the White House.
Overnight, judge ordered White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately reinstate CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s access to the White House shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Thursday after they were banned from the premises by President Donald Trump.
Kelly found that the revocation of reporters’ press badges was done without “constitutionally adequate due process.”
“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly wrote in his ruling citing case law.
The Trump administration didn’t notify the reporters of an opportunity to appeal his decision until days after the passes were confiscated.
Trump announced the ban of the three outlets in a social media post Friday, writing that he was kicking the news outlets out “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and adding “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
The three news outlets sued, requesting the ban be paused or blocked entirely. In court filings and during a hearing Wednesday, an attorney for the outlets argued the ban contradicted prior court rulings, violated due process and was issued merely because of Trump’s disdain for the journalists.
Attorneys for the administration countered, saying that Trump’s decision did include an appeals process — one that was only spelled out in letters sent to the outlets days after the ban was announced.
