CNN, MS NOW and Politico have expanded their lawsuit against President Donald Trump over access to the White House, saying that even after a federal judge ordered their access restored, they have continued to face retaliation for their news coverage.
The three news organizations filed an amended complaint on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, asking a federal judge in Washington to prevent the White House from barring them from serving in a press pool for other reporters in the close quarters of the Oval Office and Air Force One.
Donald Trump: a judge already ordered access restored
US District Judge Timothy Kelly has, since September 24, issued orders requiring the Donald Trump administration to reinstate White House access for journalists from the news organizations.
According to the amended complaint, the administration has continued to bar them from certain areas despite those orders — a move the media companies say violates the speech protections of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The White House: "The Fake News has no place demanding a spot"
The White House answered the expanded lawsuit with a blunt statement: "The Fake News has no place demanding a spot in the President's Oval Office."
The dispute now goes beyond a simple question of credentials. The outlets are asking the court to block the White House from keeping them out of the pooled coverage that puts reporters inside the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One — the two smallest, most controlled spaces where a president is covered up close.
With the midterm elections six days away, the fight over who gets to stand in the room has become a First Amendment test case: a judge has already ruled once, the outlets say the ruling is being ignored in practice, and the White House says the press has no right to demand a spot.