The White House bans CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and three reporters' passes stop working at the gate
On Friday, September 18, 2026, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House for "FAKE NEWS." On Saturday morning CNN's Betsy Klein and MS NOW's Akayla Gardner found their passes deactivated and had them taken, and the Secret Service turned Politico's Cheyenne Haslett away and confiscated her pass. The agent who took Klein's pass said he had no further information; the White House sent the three outlets letters giving its reasons three days later.
What happened
The post read: "I am banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" Asked why at an Oval Office event the same day, Trump said, "Because they're fake news. You get so tired of reading and seeing fake news," and at an afternoon press conference told a Bloomberg reporter, "I dislike dishonest press, like you." On Saturday, September 19, CNN's Betsy Klein, who has covered the White House since the Obama administration, had her badge taken by a Secret Service agent; MS NOW's Akayla Gardner's badge was disabled and an officer told her the decision was "above him"; Politico's Cheyenne Haslett was denied entry and her pass confiscated. WHCA president Jacqui Heinrich said the denial violates the First Amendment and called for immediate restoration. On Sunday, September 20, the White House removed CNN from Monday's television pool rotation and from the pool for the UN General Assembly trip. On Monday, September 21, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News refused to replace CNN and the five-network pool suspended coverage of pool-designated presidential events; the three outlets sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where the case was assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly. The Justice Department answered on September 22 that White House access is "a privilege — not a right," cited national security, and gave the outlets until September 25 to contest the revocation. Early on September 24 Kelly granted a temporary restraining order; the three outlets' reporters returned to the grounds that day and the network pool resumed on September 25. The order addressed the hard passes and did not directly address pool duties or Air Force One. On September 25 the White House removed CNN from the Air Force One rotation for the president's September 26 trip to Knoxville and listed Real America's Voice, not a member of the network pool, in its place, giving no reason; no network pool camera traveled. The outlets' lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, said the plaintiffs believe the order also covers pool access.
Why it matters
A hard pass is a Secret Service credential that, since Sherrill v. Knight (D.C. Cir. 1977), cannot be denied without notice, a hearing and a written reason. Three were switched off overnight with none of those, on the president's stated ground that the outlets' coverage was "fake news." Earlier restrictions in this term — the AP's Oval Office exclusion, the Pentagon press-office closure — each carried a stated reason other than the coverage; this one does not. It is the first time an entire news organization has been barred from the White House by name for its reporting.
Sources
npr.org, pbs.org, aljazeera.com, cnn.com, npr.org, komonews.com, cbsnews.com, nbcnews.com, npr.org, thehill.com, cnn.com, pbs.org, npr.org