White House TV pool resumes coverage after judge temporarily blocks CNN ban

The White House television pool resumed filming presidential events on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, after halting earlier in the week, as President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit. The pool is made up of five major U.S. broadcast outlets — CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News — that take turns shooting and sharing video of the president. It stopped covering White House events on Monday in solidarity with CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which Trump had banned from the building; the other four pool members declined to take their turns in protest. A federal judge issued a ruling early Thursday temporarily restoring the three outlets' access to the White House for two weeks while the case proceeds, but journalists for CNN and MS NOW were still denied entry to Thursday night's state dinner honoring Xi, according to The Guardian and PBS NewsHour.

The standoff followed Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds. According to The Guardian, Trump cited what he described as their constant 'reporting' of 'FAKE NEWS.' The Hill reports that Trump complained on Thursday that CNN and MS NOW, which he had banned, were not covering what he called the 'made for Television' state visit. The pool's halt meant that for much of the week there was no high-quality pool footage of White House events or the president's movements, though some smaller outlets attempted coverage, according to The Guardian.

In a memo quoted by The Guardian, Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, then serving as TV pool chair, told pool subscribers that operations would cease, writing that this followed the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties and that 'There will be no replacement pool put in place.' PBS NewsHour reports that a judge temporarily struck down the ban in an overnight ruling early Thursday and that the ruling did not directly address the pool. The Hill describes a judge's injunction ordering the White House to let CNN, MS NOW and Politico back into the White House press corps, lasting two weeks.

Friday was CBS's turn in the pool rotation. The Hill reports that CNN carried the CBS feed of Xi's arrival at the White House, which it described as a signal the standoff was resolved, at least for now. PBS NewsHour reports that at noon on CNN, viewers could see Trump and Xi touring the National Archives along with Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan, Xi's wife. The Guardian reports that a CBS News producer confirmed in an internal note that the network would serve as pooler as scheduled, with the note saying the plan was to return to covering the president 'in a normal capacity with a full crew.' The Guardian also quotes a person familiar with the pool, speaking anonymously, saying: 'As of now, all systems are go.'

CNN did not comment directly on Friday, referring instead to its editorial coverage, according to PBS NewsHour. The network's media analyst, Brian Stelter, posted on X that CNN had a pool assignment at the National Archives event and that the White House had approved the network's credentials, PBS reports. The Guardian quotes CNN anchor Pamela Brown telling viewers Friday morning that CNN's access to the White House had been restored and the TV pool appeared to be functioning as normal.

Xi's visit was his first to Washington in more than a decade and the second meeting between the two leaders this year, according to Al Jazeera English. The outlet reports that Trump described a 'great meeting' with Xi, and that the two discussed tensions over Taiwan, trade and artificial intelligence, with differences also noted over Iran. The Hill reports that Xi said 'new substance' had been added to the U.S.-China relationship, while Trump said many 'positive things' had happened and that American farmers would be 'very happy' with the results. The Hill adds that expectations going in were low and that significant deliverables from the talks were still awaited.

Trump hosted a state dinner for Xi on Thursday night. According to Al Jazeera English, Trump said in his toast: 'President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we've never gotten along better,' and added, 'Together, we can continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security for future generations.' Xi said in his toast that 'President Trump has pledged to make America great again' and that 'China is committed to achieving great national rejuvenation,' adding that the two goals 'are both ambitious and can surely be mutually reinforcing.' Al Jazeera reports the guest list included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. Al Jazeera also reports that Trump greeted Xi and his wife on Wednesday as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews, an unusual step, and that Trump showed Xi the Marine One helicopter and a new helipad.

The Hill reports that Xi announced Thursday that China would send two giant pandas to the Atlanta zoo, about two years after Zoo Atlanta sent its previous pandas back home. A live blog of the visit was also being run, according to The Hill.

Where sources differ

• The Hill describes the judge's action as an injunction ordering the White House to let CNN, MS NOW and Politico back into the White House press corps for two weeks, while PBS NewsHour describes it as a ruling that temporarily struck down the ban but did not directly address the pool; The Guardian says the judge granted a request to force the White House to restore access for the next two weeks.
• The Hill reports that CNN carried the CBS feed of Xi's arrival at the White House, while PBS NewsHour reports that CNN's noon coverage showed Trump and Xi touring the National Archives; The Guardian says the pool covered the two leaders arriving at the South Portico for tea and a tour of the National Archives.

• None of the sources includes a statement from MS NOW or Politico on the ban, the court ruling or the pool's resumption.
• No White House statement on the pool's resumption or on the judge's ruling is included in the sources.
• The sources do not establish whether the White House will seek to restrict the outlets' access to particular locations, such as the Oval Office, as the legal fight continues; The Hill identifies this as an open question.
• The sources do not establish what, if any, significant deliverables came out of the Trump-Xi talks.
• Whether the pool arrangement will hold beyond the two-week period covered by the judge's ruling is not established.
• The Hill's report that a key test would come Saturday with CNN's next rotation in the TV pool is not corroborated by the other sources.
• The sources do not state the exact day the pool halted operations except The Guardian, which says it ceased on Monday.

1. The Hill — original — by Colin Meyn
2. PBS NewsHour — by Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press
3. The Guardian US — by Jeremy Barr in Washington
4. NBC News — by NBC News
5. Al Jazeera English

Read the original at The Hill

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