White House revokes hard passes for CNN, Politico and MS NOW reporters

On 18 September 2026, the Trump administration revoked White House hard passes for reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW after President Donald Trump publicly attacked the outlets' coverage. The organizations later challenged the action as retaliatory and procedurally unlawful. In October, Judge Timothy J. Kelly treated the administration's asserted national-security explanation as insufficiently supported at the preliminary stage and noted the absence of advance notice. The September action is the underlying government decision in the later injunction litigation; it should not be described as a final judicial finding of unconstitutional conduct before the merits are resolved.