U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday and was asked whether he supported President Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House because Trump objects to their reporting. Trump has repeatedly called their work “Fake News” and wrote in announcing the ban that the outlets report “FICTION and LIES.”
[NOTE: The three outlets filed a joint lawsuit alleging that the bans violate the First and Fifth Amendments.]
Scalise responded, “Go look at Joe Biden, Joe Biden removed the press credentials from over 400 different agencies. You know what President Trump has done is brought a lot of those back in but he wants a free and fair press.”
Jonathan Karl responded, “So actually, that’s not true about Biden. The 400 individual reporters who had credentials did not reapply. There was only one that was actually denied a credential. And all of those who didn’t reapply were allowed to come in. They were not banned from the White House. That did not happen.”
[NOTE: In 2023, the Biden administration adopted new eligibility rules for permanent White House “hard passes.” The requirements included proof of recent employment, Washington-area contact information, accreditation through a congressional (or Supreme Court) press gallery, and a security review. The eligibility modification meant more than 440 reporters did not retain permanent passes, but reporters without them could still request temporary day passes to the White House.]
KARL: Do you support Trump banning news organizations because he doesn’t like what they’re reporting?
SCALISE: Look, Joe Biden removed the press credentials from over 400 different agencies
KARL: That’s not true. 400 reporters who had credentials didn’t reapply. They weren’t… pic.twitter.com/HOh8DFeGtC
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 20, 2026
Karl added, “And what we’re seeing now is Trump is saying, for as open as he may or may not have been, and I agree with you, he is somebody who has taken a lot of questions from reporters, he is now banning CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House.”
When asked whether he thought Trump was violating the First Amendment, Scalise said, “Well, I don’t know why he did it, I don’t know what the background is.” Scalise added, “I’ve never seen him turn down a question from anybody.”
[NOTE: In November 2025, on Air Force One, when Bloomberg News White House correspondent Catherine Lucey asked a follow-up question regarding the Epstein files, President Trump — in a widely reported incident — did not answer the question and instead pointed at her and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”]
Former President Barack Obama criticized Trump’s decision to bar the three outlets and called the decision “unimaginable.” At an appearance at Colgate University on Friday, Obama said, “I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, ‘You know what, Fox News? You’re out of here.’”