WASHINGTON — MS NOW, CNN and Politico said their journalists were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday after President Donald Trump said he would bar the outlets.

CNN called the move “an illegal assault” on the constitutional rights of news organizations to report without hindrance from government and all three outlets pledged to continue covering the Trump White House intensively.

An MS NOW reporter, speaking to the network from a street near the White House, said that she and a photographer had their badges confiscated at the gate when they arrived for work, although a producer for the network was allowed to enter.

“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalists in our democracy,” the network said in a statement posted on X.

Politico’s editor-in-chief, Jonathan Greenberger, sent a note to the newsroom saying its reporter also had her pass confiscated by the U.S. Secret Service and that it would “vigorously defend” its rights under the First Amendment, which bars the government from making laws that abridge freedom of speech and the press.

Trump escalated his fight with the media on Friday, citing unfavorable coverage by what he often calls the “fake news.”

Asked by a reporter later Friday in the Oval Office why he decided to ban the outlets now, Trump responded, “It’s really just cumulative stories over the last few years. You get sick of it.”

He also referred to the new policy as “the ban on the free press,” and suggested that he may target other news outlets, mentioning the New York Times and Washington Post as other examples of outlets he doesn’t like.

It’s not clear what spurred Trump’s sudden escalation, but it comes at a low water mark for his administration. A wide and unrelenting series of polls have signaled peril for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections, both in the House and the Senate, where seats once considered safe for Republicans are now in play.

Trump continues to be stymied by the war he started with Iran and the ongoing Russian war with Ukraine, both of which are elevating energy prices that weigh on American voters. And Vice President JD Vance has taken to calling on voters not to abandon the party even if they don’t agree with all the administration has done.

The Fed also hiked rates this week, leaving Trump limping into the midterms with mortgages at 7%, diesel fuel above $6 and gasoline above $4.

Legal fights

Trump’s ban is likely to draw a legal challenge. Federal courts have previously overturned the Trump administration’s efforts to bar reporters entirely from the White House campus.

Trump on Friday acknowledged that the ban could be struck down by a judge, saying “I think it’s good to point it out whether it survives or doesn’t.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association called on the White House to immediately restore access for the affected outlets, saying the ban violates the First Amendment. The group, however, stopped short of announcing a boycott of White House events.

“The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably,” WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich said Saturday in a post on X. “That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting.”

In an earlier spat, the White House excluded the Associated Press from presidential events, though its reporters were still allowed to work from the grounds. The AP sued and the case is ongoing.

During Trump’s first term, the administration revoked press credentials from then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after the president and the reporter sparred during a November 2018 news conference. Acosta sued the administration and a federal judge appointed by Trump ordered the press pass restored.

Last year, the White House took control of picking the group of reporters able to cover Trump in smaller environments including Air Force One and the Oval Office. The group, known as the protective pool, had for decades been managed by the WHCA.

The move has also drawn pushback even from some conservative figures, who typically abstain from publicly criticizing Trump but say the president would be better served sparring with the press than banning them.

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(With assistance from Catherine Lucey.)

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