White House 'repeatedly violated' court order to restore press access, say media outlets

24 September 2026, 15: 21 BST. Updated 10 minutes ago.

Key points

• The standoff was projected to impact TV coverage as Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday morning ahead of a state dinner.
• While others were granted access, employees from CNN, Politico and MS Now documented being denied entry on Thursday morning, with some having their credentials confiscated.
• CNN remarked some of their journalists had been denied entry, including senior White House reporter Betsy Klein.
• Politico remarked one of its reporters was denied access to the White House and had his press credentials confiscated.
• MS NOW documented that its White House reporter Laura Barrón-López and a producer were barred and had their passes taken, but another MS NOW producer was allowed in.

Three US media outlets have requested an emergency court hearing, accusing the White House of having "repeatedly violated" a judge's order to restore their access in a stand-off with President Donald Trump.

Judge Timothy Kelly ruled in the early hours of Thursday that Trump's ban on the outlets should be temporarily lifted since it "likely violated their constitutional due process rights".

Trump initially remarked he banned the outlets as of "fake news". The White House afterwards cited national security.

It was unclear whether the refusal to admit some reporters on Thursday morning was since of an administrative lag as the White House potentially worked to comply with the judge's order.

Meanwhile, the standoff was projected to impact TV coverage as Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday morning ahead of a state dinner.

CNN remarked some of their journalists had been denied entry, including senior White House reporter Betsy Klein. But a producer was allowed to enter, the outlet documented.

Notably, the White House is yet to comment on the ruling, and lawyers acting for the president may take further legal action.

For now, white House ' repeatedly violated' court order to restore press access, say media remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.