<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Major networks in the White House television press pool are resuming their coverage on Friday after press passes were reinstated for CNN, Politico, and MS Now.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This development follows a ruling by a Trump-appointed federal judge who ordered the administration to lift its ban on the three news outlets for two weeks. President Donald Trump had banned CNN, Politico, and MS Now from covering the White House the previous Friday, leading to a court battle.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Monday, the five media networks that make up the White House television pool — NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and CNN — decided to stop fulfilling their pool duties until the administration reversed its ban on CNN. It appears the controversy may be settling, although CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter noted that the “situation remains fluid.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">CBS resumed its normal pool coverage at the White House on Friday, and CNN covered an in-town pool assignment involving a visit to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders viewed the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence during their visit, and CNN’s coverage of the event proceeded without incident.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Xi is in the United States for a three-day summit set to conclude on Friday. After a meeting in Beijing earlier this year, Trump invited Xi to the White House.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ABC was scheduled for pool duties on Thursday, but the networks in the rotating television press pool did not cover Xi’s visit to the White House that day.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that Trump’s media ban was unconstitutional and ordered the White House to restore press credentials for CNN, Politico, and MS Now.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite the judge’s ruling, the administration blocked CNN and MS Now reporters from attending the state dinner on Thursday night.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ted Boutrous, a lawyer representing the three news outlets in their lawsuit against the ban, stated that the plaintiffs believe that Kelly’s temporary restraining order applies to pool access. “We think that that restoration of access means back into the pool, which is good for President Trump and the administration,” Boutrous told CNN host Jake Tapper. “And it’s good for the American people to get the pool back up and running.”</p>