News outlets take Trump to court over White House ban
Television networks dropped their shared coverage of President Trump on the day the lawsuit was filed, the Fox News Washington bureau chief told pool members.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued the Trump administration over the White House ban on their journalists, saying in a joint statement that the government “does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on 21 September 2026 as case number 1:26-cv-03287 and assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly, according to the court’s public docket.
The three outlets, along with reporters Betsy Klein, Akayla Gardner and Cheyenne Haslett, also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order the same day. Seven supporting declarations were attached to the motion, among them one from each of the three reporters.
The journalists’ White House clearance was revoked on 19 September 2026, in a move the statement described as coming “without notice or process” because the White House “objected to our reporting.”
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the statement added. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
The organisations warned that, left unchallenged, the ban “threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, Fox News’ Washington bureau chief, wrote in a message to pool members. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties.”
Fox News, ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC have for years rotated responsibility for televising presidential events under an agreement to share footage and split costs.
Boughton added that no replacement pool would be put in place and that all other pool coverage would continue as normal, with further updates expected “as this situation develops.”
Vice President JD Vance denied the outlets had been banned. “He’s not banning media outlets,” Vance told reporters.
“What he’s doing is saying we’re not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda,” Vance added.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the White House was not “instituting an assault on the Free Press” but on “the FAKE NEWS,” which the post called “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive” and “out of control.”