On Friday President Donald Trump announced that the White House had withdrawn the press credentials of CNN, Politico and the online outlet MS NOW, accusing the three of publishing "fiction or lies" about his administration. He reiterated the move on his Truth Social platform, describing the outlets as sources of "fake news" and suggesting that other media could be added to the ban.

The three organisations issued a joint statement saying the revocation was carried out without notice or due process and that it threatened the principle that the government cannot dictate what the press reports. On Monday they lodged a lawsuit in the US District Court in Washington, seeking an immediate ruling that the ban is unconstitutional and requesting an order preventing White House staff from enforcing it.

The ban immediately disrupted the White House television press pool. Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton emailed other network executives to confirm that, effective that day, the pool would no longer provide coverage of President Trump. The five‑seat CNN booth in the press corps basement was left empty as the President travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, with a CNN crew broadcasting from a public pavement instead.