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White House

Politico Was Barred From Traveling With Trump on Air Force One

The outlet was supposed to fly with the president as the print pool representative.

Donald Trump waves from Air Force One

President Donald Trump barred Politico, CNN and MS Now from the White House last month. (Alex Brandon/AP)

By Jenna Monnin

October 5, 2026 02:09 p.m.

Updated: October 5, 2026 03:00 p.m.

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The White House refused to allow Politico to travel with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Monday, a spokesperson for the outlet said.

Politico is part of a trio of news companies, along with CNN and MS NOW, that Trump banned from the White House on Sept. 18, and several journalists had their media passes confiscated when they tried to enter the grounds. Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a temporary restraining order on the policy on Sept. 24 and directed the White House to reinstate the journalists’ passes.

Politico confirmed that the outlet had been excluded from the out-of-town travel pool on Monday, despite Kelly’s order. The outlet was slated to be the print pool representative on Monday. CNN first reported the news.

CNN had also been blocked from fulfilling its pool duties on the days the network was assigned to be the TV pool representative.

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Trump is set to travel to Nebraska for a campaign stop in Grand Island.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung previously said he believes that Kelly’s order restoring access to the White House grounds does not cover journalists’ ability to cover the president through pool events.

“The judge basically ordered them to renew their access back to the White House, but that’s different than allowing the pool into the events in the Oval Office or on Air Force One,” Cheung told TIME on Sept. 28 during the outlet’s interview with the president.

In his order, Kelly cited due process concerns spurred by the White House confiscating journalists’ badges without prior notice or an appropriate opportunity to be heard regarding the decision.

But Kelly’s order did not specify whether the White House can legally ban journalists conducting their pool duties, which are agreements in which a rotating group of journalists cover an event or political figure and share material and information with the wider press corps. Journalists covering Trump may have to execute their pool responsibilities within the White House grounds, or they can work through a travel pool if the president has a scheduled trip.

Kelly’s temporary restraining order expires Thursday. Attorneys for the media outlets filed a motion on Sept. 28 urging Kelly to issue a preliminary injunction to block the ban while the case proceeds in court. Kelly has not issued a ruling on the media outlet’s request, but a hearing is scheduled Thursday to review the motion.

“The White House has persisted in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing its ban, including by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as designated television network pooler on September 26—to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public,” the filing from media outlets reads.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Author

STAFF_Jenna Monnin_MUG-500px.png Jenna Monnin is a reporter at The Washington Sun.

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