Judge Kelly Hears 46-Minute Argument on White House Press-Ban TRO, Takes Case Under Advisement
On September 23, 2026, Judge Timothy J. Kelly held a remote videoconference hearing at 3:30 p.m. on plaintiffs’ TRO motion in Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump, 1:26-cv-03287 (D.D.C.). Per the docket, oral argument was heard and the motion “taken under advisement” (Court Reporter: Tammy Nestor); a full transcript (pages 1-39) was later filed September 25. CNBC reported the hearing lasted about 46 minutes and that Kelly ended it without an immediate ruling, telling counsel: “I’ll consider what you told me today. I’ll try and get you an answer as soon as I can.”
At the hearing, plaintiffs’ lead counsel Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. argued “This is a clear retaliation case.” The Justice Department defended the ban on the national-security rationale first raised in its September 22 filing (see 2026-09-22–doj-cites-national-security-cnn-politico-msnow-ban).
Earlier the same day, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, joined by the White House Correspondents’ Association and 49 other media organizations, filed an unopposed motion for leave to file an amicus brief (docket entries 17-19), later granted by minute order on September 24. Plaintiffs also filed three additional supplemental declarations (Boutrous, Sudeep Reddy, David Vigilante — docket entries 20-22) and defendants filed a further supplemental declaration with exhibits (docket entry 23) the same day.
Judge Kelly ruled that night, into the early hours of September 24 — see 2026-09-24–judge-kelly-grants-tro-cnn-politico-msnow-press-passes.
Sourcing note. Hearing timing, format, and the “taken under advisement” disposition are from the CourtListener/RECAP docket; the 46-minute duration and direct quotations are from CNBC’s report, filed the same day.
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Sources & Citations
The Cascade Ledger. “Judge Kelly Hears 46-Minute Argument on White House Press-Ban TRO, Takes Case Under Advisement.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, September 23, 2026. https://capturecascade.org/event/2026-09-23--judge-kelly-hears-arguments-cnn-politico-msnow-tro/