Journalists from MS NOW, CNN and Politico were denied entry to the White House on Saturday and had their press passes confiscated, a day after President Donald Trump said he would revoke access to the three networks.

A reporter and a cameraman from MS NOW were not allowed into the White House early in the morning, and their press badges were confiscated by U.S. Secret Service at a security gate outside the West Wing. CNN announced later its White House reporter Betsy Klein was also denied access, and Politico editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger said the same of that news outlet’s White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett.

MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner reported from outside the White House gates on Saturday morning instead. Gardner told MS NOW’s “The Weekend” that she was allowed through the first two gates with no issues, but when she scanned her press badge to enter the grounds, it beeped and she was asked to hand over her badge. An MS NOW producer, however, was still able to enter the White House with her badge, Gardner said.

“Yesterday, our journalists were able to stay here working on the White House grounds,” she said. “This is the first action we know of of them actually denying us entry into the White House.”

“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” said an MS NOW spokesperson. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”

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“We stand firmly behind our anchors, our reporters, and our newsroom. We will continue to report on the President, the administration, and the issues that impact the American people.”

CNN said in a statement that it will continue to cover the U.S. government “regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and any other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism.”

“We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on our fundamental right,” CNN said. “We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor.”

The move marks another potential First Amendment test for the Trump administration over its treatment of the press. Courts have previously considered whether the White House may restrict access based on an outlet’s editorial choices, and Trump’s administration has faced legal challenges over press access.

Trump had said in a Truth Social post on Friday that MS NOW, CNN and Politico would be banned from the White House, accusing the news organizations of reporting “fake news” and what he called “FICTION and LIES” about him, his administration and the United States. He did not cite specific reports that prompted the decision and suggested other news organizations could face similar action.

Trump defended the ban while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, reiterating that no single report prompted the move. Instead he pointed to what he called “cumulative stories over the last few years” and accused the outlets, without evidence, of intentionally publishing negative coverage of Republicans and his administration.

Trump also acknowledged that his proposed restrictions could face a legal challenge. “Whether it survives or doesn’t,” Trump said, “I think that somebody has a right to keep them away if they’re going to write false stories all the time.”

The White House previously restricted The Associated Press’ access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other presidential spaces because of the wire service’s decision to continue using the term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of “Gulf of America” after a Trump executive order sought to rename the international body of water. The AP sued, arguing that the restrictions violated the First Amendment, and a federal judge ordered the White House to restore its access, ruling that the government could not punish the organization for its editorial choices. The administration appealed, and the case is pending.

The administration also excluded a Wall Street Journal reporter from Air Force One in 2025 after objecting to the newspaper’s reporting about Trump and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

When pressed on the First Amendment and whether the move was intended to intimidate the press, Trump told reporters, “No, no, no,” adding that he opposed what he called “dishonest press.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., appearing on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” Saturday, said, “It’s very clear that Donald Trump is running the United States like a state-run, controlled authoritarian government.” 

The congresswoman, a former Obama administration official who worked at the White House, added, “To deny access to a media outlet because you don’t like their coverage, you don’t like what they’re reporting on, is not only a violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment rights of our media. It is a scary overstep.”

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, accused Trump of “North Korea levels of censorship” following his announcement on Friday. “These attacks on free speech are insane,” Garcia said in a post on X. “The First Amendment is sacred in this country. We must defend it at all costs.”

Press freedom advocates also quickly condemned the announcement.

“This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office,” White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich said in a statement.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the ban would violate free speech protections against excluding journalists based on their coverage.

“If President Trump means to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a ‘public forum’ under the First Amendment, which means the president can’t exclude journalists from it on the basis of their viewpoints,” Jaffer said.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation called the move a “blatant violation of the First Amendment” and accused Trump of retaliating against news organizations for critical coverage.

“The press keeps exposing his corruption and his failures,” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the foundation, said in a statement. “These outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he is of an informed public.”

The Radio Television Digital News Association also criticized the move, with President and CEO Tara Puckey saying restricting access undermines press transparency.

“A press room you get to curate isn’t a press room. It’s a stage,” Puckey said. “Transparency means access for reporters asking tough questions, not simply the ones you like.”

Lisa Rubin contributed to this report.

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From MS Now.