The Trump administration formally appealed Wednesday a federal judge’s ruling that blocked President Donald Trump from banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House.
Justice Department attorneys filed a notice of appeal challenging U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s preliminary injunction issued Tuesday. The case now moves to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where the administration will seek to overturn the order protecting the three outlets’ White House press credentials while their lawsuit proceeds.
Kelly, a Trump appointee, found that the news organizations were likely to succeed on their First Amendment and due process claims. He concluded that Trump’s dissatisfaction with their coverage, rather than national security concerns, was the likely motivation for the ban. The appeal does not automatically suspend the ruling, so the outlets can retain their credentials for now.
The White House previously said it would challenge the decision, calling it “misguided.”
The ban affected 78 journalists across the three organizations, whose credentials were revoked without prior warning or a chance to challenge the decision. Kelly found the administration had not adequately justified the restrictions on national security grounds.
The ruling does not resolve every dispute over the outlets’ access to the president. CNN has faced restrictions on White House television pool assignments, and Politico was barred from an Air Force One trip even after the court initially restored its credentials. Those limits are separate from the hard-pass access covered by Kelly’s injunction.