CNN, MS NOW and Politico asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to extend his order temporarily restoring their White House access and to block President Donald Trump from reviving his ban, calling the ban an "unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms." The filing seeks to preserve their access while they fight Trump's move to bar them over coverage he dislikes.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the passes restored on Sept. 24, granting a 14 day temporary restraining order after finding the outlets likely to succeed on their claim that their credentials were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process. He rejected the administration's national security justification at that stage, writing that the record contained little factual support showing the credential revocations would protect national security. The Justice Department had told the court that "the president has found that plaintiffs have engaged in a number of reporting incidents that have threatened national security," though Trump complained about negative coverage when he announced the ban. The White House initially turned the journalists away that morning, with a Politico reporter denied entry and his credentials confiscated, before readmitting them around midday.

Trump has since signaled the ban may return. The White House said in a court filing that it has restored the outlets' access for now, and it barred two CNN journalists from covering Xi Jinping's arrival for a state dinner after trying to tell the network which type of journalists could cover the event. Trump posted on Truth Social that "FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!" and that it "HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY."