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Every president would prefer a press corps that recognizes his (or someday her) brilliance and leaves promptly after the photographs. Trump is trying to arrange one.
Today, the Justice Department defended Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico by invoking national security. Among the alleged threats: reporting on poor turnout at a Republican event. Trump’s attendance problem now has government lawyers.
It’s a shabby, after-the-fact excuse to shut out the reporters doing the constitutionally protected work of scrutinizing the actions of the nation’s elected leaders. As it stands, more than 50 news outlets and media groups urged the court to restore access. Judge Timothy Kelly heard arguments today but has not yet ruled. He said he would decide “as soon as I can.”
As a former White House correspondent I can tell you: being there matters. Sometimes, asking the hard questions is itself the point. It presses the president to confront what he’d rather ignore and lets the public see what he won’t answer.
Presidents have always wanted better coverage. They’re supposed to earn it.
If this ban stands, every newsroom gets a warning: challenge the president and risk being shut out. That’s why this ruling matters to everyone who relies on the press to ask the questions the White House would rather avoid.
On that very question, my former colleague Dana Bash, CNN anchor and chief political correspondent, joined me to discuss the press ban and her new book, The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments that Shaped How We Live. You can buy the book here.
In this newsletter: All the news that fits his mood. Trump’s ballroom rules. The human cost of RFK’s security. Epstein’s inner circle faces questions. Purging health insurance users. California braces for El Niño. And in News That Doesn’t Suck, hooves above a highway.
Hard Pressed: Today, a federal judge heard CNN, MS NOW, and Politico’schallenge to their White House banand said the Trump administration had denied their reporters due process in revoking their press passes. Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was nominated by Trump but previously ruled against him in the 2018 case restoring CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s credentials,appeared unconvincedby the administration’s arguments. He did not issue an immediate ruling. The Department of JusticearguedTrump banned reporters for publishing falsehoods or sensitive national security information. Trump did not mention national security concerns when announcing the ban and hasrepeatedly saidhe banned the outlets over their unfavorable coverage. The DOJ furtherarguedthat “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right.” But courts have established limits on that discretion: Once the White House opens press facilities to journalists, it cannot deny access arbitrarily. Attorney Ted Boutrous, representing the banned outlets,arguedthe ban contradicts the “very essence of the First Amendment.” More than 50 media outlets and organizations signed afriend-of-the-court briefin support of the three banned outlets. We are still awaiting the judge’s ruling.Code Red: Before the first architect of Trump’s ballroom resigned last year, he repeatedly warned that Trump’s desired design features violated safety codes, the Washington Postreports. Trump reportedly claimed that the codes didn’t apply to the White House, saying, “I am the code.” Somewhere,▶Judge Dreddis considering a copyright claim.Priorities: Public service generally involves some concern for the people you serve. RFK Jr’s Health Department diverted $12 million from the Office of Minority Health to fund his enhanced security, according to anew reportfrom the Wall Street Journal. The agency has a pot of discretionary funds that it could have used. Instead, it cut money from an office created under President Ronald Reagan to address health disparities affecting Black and brown communities, such as why Black babies die at higher rates than white babies, and why Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Under RFK, that office is now focused on investigating things like “low sperm count” and “erectile dysfunction.” It would seem the department has identified its most vulnerable population: its Secretary.
Inner Circle: Federal prosecutors are investigating the co-executors and main beneficiaries of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, per theWall Street Journal. Darren Indyke, Epstein’s former lawyer, and Richard Kahn, his accountant, worked for Epstein for decades. Critics, including Epstein’s victims and their lawyers, claim the pairhelped facilitateEpstein’s sex trafficking operations, including sending payments to women. They insist they knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes.Justice: Harvey Weinstein wassentencedin New York to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a former production assistant. This was aretrialof a case originally concluded in 2020, which an appeals court overturned in 2024. It’s one of multiple trials and convictions against the former Hollywood power broker.Health Cut: Nearly 760,000 Americans areset to losetheir Affordable Care Act health insurance. President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force and other officialsclaimthe enrollments were fraudulent, made without people’s knowledge, or tied to people who did not exist, by brokers and agents seeking commission, which is awarded per-enrollee. Vance claims the move will save $2.2 billion. Some experts aredemandingthe administration explain how it identified the accounts and what safeguards exist to ensure innocent people aren’t caught up in the sweep. ACA enrollment, which more than doubled under Biden, hasfallenby five million since Trump took office, as health care premiums have skyrocketed following the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies.Batten Down the Hatches: California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared astate of emergencyover the super El Niño, allowing the state government to prepare resources for potentially unprecedented severe weather over the coming months. The current El Niño is already among thestrongeston record and couldbecome the strongest— potentially beating previous record-breaking instances that caused trillions in losses around the world — and is still months away from its peak. Anew reportwarned that this El Niño could contribute to over 450,000 excess deaths globally through February, including roughly 3,500 in the U.S., if governments fail toprepare. This is a projection, not a prediction, and there’s still time to act. In California, that meanspreparingfor severe storms and coastal flooding. Here’s someadvice on how to prepare.El Niño is a recurringclimate phenomenonwhere the central Pacific ocean surface heats up, raising temperatures and intensifying weather events around the world. When sea surface temperatures increase by 2ºC (3.6ºF), El Niño isconsidered“very strong.” This one is already in that category and still growing stronger.
Defending the Windmills:Californiaand a coalition of states led byNew Yorkseparatelyfiled lawsuitsagainst the Trump administration, seeking to block it from halting offshore wind energy projects. After federal courtsblockedTrump from cancelling these projects outright, the administration began using taxpayer funds to pay developers to abandon their leases and commit to investing in fossil fuel and geothermal energy projects instead.Old Friends: China’s Xi Jinpingarrivedin the US today, for hisfirststate visit in over a decade and his second face-to-face meeting with Trump this year. On the table: AI, with several tech mogulsexpectedto attend a state dinner Thursday; trade, as a trade war truce is set to expire November; Taiwan, as Trump weighs further postponing an arms sale to the island; and Iran. Expertsexpectlots of pomp but little concrete policy. We’ll update you onInstagramand in Friday’s newsletter if the substance proves them wrong.Another Death: A Guatemalan mandiedin a car crash in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while fleeing an attempted traffic stop by ICE. 36-year-old Mario David Coronado Juárez had lived in the area for several years, and wasworkingto support his wife and three young kids, all of whom live in Guatemala.Pay to Play: An FBI corruption investigation examining Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and other lawmakers died after Trump returned to office and dismantled the bureau’s public-corruption unit, according to new reporting fromProPublicaand theNew York Times. During Biden’s term, Martin Kao, the CEO of naval contractor Navtek, reportedly told investigators he met with Collins’ political adviser to arrange donations in return for securing federal contracts. Kao provided FBI agents with evidence of his attempts to cultivate relationships with several other lawmakers. “All of it is for sale,” a Navtek executive told ProPublica. Agents thought there was enough evidence to justify a broader investigation — but Trump’s FBI dismantled the specialized anti-corruption unit handling the case, purging agents and prosecutors. Kao had credibility problems but agents found records that corroborated much of his account. Still, the investigation died. Collins and her staff vigorously denied the allegations.
Safe Crossing: Every spring and fall, large animals like elk, deer, andpronghornmigrate between their winter and summer ranges. But in Douglas County, Colorado, their migration route runs straight into I-25, where more than 100,000 vehicles pass daily. During migration season, research shows a driver hits wildlife on this stretch of roadevery day. It’s the same story across the country. Researchsuggeststhere are more than a million such collisions every year,killing hundredsof people, injuring tens of thousands more, and costing more than $10 billion — to say nothing of the wildlife that die, suffer injuries, or lose access to crucial sources of water and food. In Douglas County, though, these collisions may now be largely a thing of the past. Nine months ago,workers unveileda massive wildlife crossing bridge. At 200 feet wide by 209 feet long, it’s the largest in North America, and one of the largest in the world. Workersfinished itahead of schedule and under budget. And it works: Since the bridge opened, wildlife-vehicle collisionsare down91%. Officials think the cost savings from averted crashes alone should help the bridge pay for itself within 15 years. It’s part of awider systemof underpasses and fencing, which guides creatures of all sizes across the roadway, from tiny frogs to massive elk and pronghorn. One official said those pronghorn have begun crossing to the western side of I-25 for the “first time in decades.” It’s also[one of dozens](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/colorado-is-building-the-worlds-largest-wildlife-overpass-giving-elk-and-other-big-creatures-a-safe-path-to-cross-a-busy-freeway-180987101/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&…
