White House removes CNN from press pool for Trump’s upcoming trip to Texas and Oklahoma

The White House on Wednesday removed CNN from the press pool that’s set to cover a trip by President Donald Trump on Thursday, escalating a feud with the cable network after a federal judge blocked the administration’s push to restrict its media access.

CNN had been designated to travel with Trump on Thursday, according to a press rotation document the White House released Sunday. But when the daily guidance came out for his scheduled visit to a truck manufacturing facility in Denton, Texas, followed by remarks in Durant, Oklahoma, it did not list CNN as providing pool coverage.

The move comes less than a week after a federal judge halted Trump’s effort to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. It also comes after the White House barred CNN from flying on Air Force One over the weekend when Trump traveled to Tennessee, when the network was scheduled to provide pool coverage. (The judge’s order was limited to media access on the White House grounds.)

Emily Kuhn, a spokesperson for CNN, confirmed the cable network’s removal from planned pool coverage but did not provide additional comment. Instead, she pointed to an earlier statement from Theodore Boutrous, an attorney representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico in their fight with the White House over press access.

“As we have said from the beginning, the President’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process,” Boutrous said in a statement Monday, when the three news outlets asked a federal judge to extend his pause on Trump’s ban.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about CNN’s exclusion from Thursday’s trip.

The White House press pool is a group of media outlets that share video, editorial information and costs for coverage of high-profile officials and events involving the president anywhere in the world. Under the system, each day’s designated “poolers” represent the wider press corps to document newsworthy events and serve as a conduit between the president and the public.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between killed New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

FOR SUBSCRIBERSMore oil is getting out of the Middle East. Why is it still so expensive?

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe complicated bargain between ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular and the women in his orbit

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenators unveil bipartisan bill to deliver essential newborn supply kits to new moms

The White House Correspondents’ Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a group of 49 news and media organizations that included NBCUniversal Media, the parent company of NBC News, filed a legal brief last week in support of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between killed New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

FOR SUBSCRIBERSMore oil is getting out of the Middle East. Why is it still so expensive?

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe complicated bargain between ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular and the women in his orbit

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenators unveil bipartisan bill to deliver essential newborn supply kits to new moms

Other member networks of the pool — Fox News, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News — briefly boycotted participating in pool duties last week in solidarity with CNN.

NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exclusion of CNN for Thursday’s trip and whether it intended to take any action.

Trump has restricted access for other news outlets before. In 2025, he banned The Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One and certain events for not referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — his preferred name for the gulf.

The AP sued, and the case continues.