Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• White House bars Politico from Air Force One press pool; CNN also repeatedly excluded — The White House refused to allow Politico on Air Force One on Monday, preventing the news organization from fulfilling its press corps pool responsibilities. This follows a pattern: news outlets filed a lawsuit on September 21 alleging the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Judge Timothy Kelly sided with the plaintiffs and issued a temporary restraining order requiring the Trump administration to reinstate journalists' press badges. Since then, the White House has repeatedly barred CNN from traveling on Air Force One on days when it was CNN's turn to be the TV pool representative. The Trump administration appears to be justifying these restrictions by claiming access to the White House complex differs from access to tight spaces like Air Force One. Judge Kelly is scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday over the news outlets' request for a preliminary injunction.
• White House blocks Politico from Air Force One pool rotation — The White House decided to block Politico from riding on Air Force One and called numerous other outlets to ask one to fill the primary print slot for the out-of-town pool rotation. Each of those outlets declined to step in, leaving the pool slot unfilled.
• Trump administration defended restrictions on news organizations' press access — The Trump administration continued to defend its decision to restrict press access for reporters from CNN, MSNBC, and Politico on journalistic conduct grounds. CNN, MSNBC, and Politico filed a federal court challenge, asking a judge to continue blocking the restrictions and to rule on long-term protections. The judge previously ordered temporary relief and is expected to rule on permanent protections.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore White House press credentials to banned outlets — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an early-morning order on Thursday requiring the Trump administration to restore press credentials to journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico for a 14-day period. The judge found the administration likely violated due process and First Amendment protections when it revoked the outlets' hard passes on Saturday without advance notice or opportunity to be heard. Kelly ruled the standards cited by the White House were "so vague" as to be constitutionally inadequate and expressed skepticism that national security was the actual motivation, noting Trump's content-based statements about the ban. A hearing on a preliminary injunction was scheduled during the 14-day restoration period.
• Federal judge ordered White House to restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day restraining order requiring the White House to immediately restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters after Trump banned them. The judge found the news organizations were likely to succeed on their claim that their passes were revoked without due process. When reporters attempted to cover Trump's event with Chinese President Xi, they were initially denied access in defiance of the court order, prompting attorneys to file an emergency motion. The White House eventually admitted the reporters after other media outlets joined a boycott.
• U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted media outlets' request to block Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — After a hearing on Trump's Friday ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House campus, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly (appointed by Trump in 2017) granted the media outlets' request for a temporary restraining order, finding that the administration's national security justification was pretextual. Kelly noted that the stories the White House objected to were "routine" and that one was based on a White House press call. Kelly ordered the credentials of 78 journalists restored immediately.

Supporting reports

• Appeal filed — Abramowitz v. Lake (D.D.C.) 1:25-cv-00887 — Judge Royce Lamberth granted the Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, issuing the order alongside Widakuswara v. Lake to facilitate appellate review. In granting this motion, Judge Lamberth blocked Defendants from dismantling VOA. Defendants appealed this order to the D.C. Circuit on April 24.
• Preliminary injunction ruling — Widakuswara v. Kari Lake (D.D.C.) 1:25-cv-01015 — Judge Lamberth issued an order that granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. The memorandum opinion explains the court ordered Defendants to take all necessary steps to return USAGM employees and contractors to their status prior to the EO, restore the grant funding to Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and restore VOA programming. The motion was denied to the extent it relates to RFE/RL and OTF.
• Federal judge ordered Trump administration to restore Voice of America and other news services — U.S. District Judge Carl Lamberth issued a ruling requiring the Trump administration to restore Voice of America and several other federally funded news services that had been shut down. The court found that VOA is funded by Congress, which mandated it provide news to a global audience, and ruled the administration's attempt to disband it constitutes "a direct affront to the power of the legislative branch." The decision may affect other unilateral agency abolitions undertaken by the administration.

Supporting reports

• Judge McFadden orders White House to restore Associated Press media access — US District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, issued a 41-page order requiring the White House to restore full access for Associated Press journalists to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and White House events. The AP had been denied access after refusing to adopt the Trump administration's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." McFadden ruled that viewpoint-based exclusion of journalists from government spaces violates the First Amendment. The White House had argued the AP lacks a right to "special access," but the judge found the Constitution prohibits selective closure of doors to journalists based on their editorial positions.
• Federal judge blocked White House from restricting AP access — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the White House from restricting access to the Associated Press because of its decision to use "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America."

Supporting reports

• Judge blocks Musk agency access to personal data — U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued a temporary restraining order preventing Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge) from accessing sensitive personal information of millions of Americans. The ruling stops the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management from sharing federal employees' and student borrowers' data with Doge, citing potential violations of federal privacy laws. This decision follows a lawsuit by federal employee unions, student loan recipients, and veterans, and represents a significant judicial check on Doge's activities since its establishment by a January executive order.
• Federal court issues injunction against DOGE — On February 24, 2025, a federal court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), preventing it from disclosing personally identifiable information of federal employees to the DOGE team. This decision followed a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions, which cited a report by Popular Information and Musk Watch. The court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim that OPM's actions violated the Privacy Act. The TRO is set to expire on March 10, 2025, pending further court determination.
• Judge blocks data sharing with Musk's department — A federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Education and Office of Personnel Management from sharing sensitive data with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. This decision addresses concerns about data privacy and security.
• Federal judge blocks Doge from accessing personal data — A federal judge temporarily blocked Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge) from accessing sensitive personal information of millions of Americans. This decision challenges the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government by limiting Doge's access to data maintained by the US education department and the US office of personnel management.

Supporting reports

• Steve Wynn petitions SCOTUS to overturn NYT v. Sullivan — Billionaire Steve Wynn filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to overturn the 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, which protects press freedom to report on public officials. This legal challenge could significantly impact media protections.