1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

President Trump has announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are banned from the White House, effective immediately, because he objects to their reporting. Congress needs to act. The White House is not Donald Trump’s private property. It belongs to the American people, and the press is there on OUR behalf. Americans have a right to independent reporting about what our government and our president are doing. We should never be expected to rely on any administration—Republican or Democratic—to decide which journalists are sufficiently favorable to be allowed access. That is precisely why a free and independent press matters. A president cannot be permitted to turn White House access into a reward for favorable coverage and a punishment for critical coverage. If one administration can exclude CNN, MS NOW, and Politico because it dislikes their reporting, another administration can exclude Fox News, Newsmax, or any other outlet it dislikes. That is not a standard anyone who values the First Amendment should accept. This is bigger than partisan politics. It is about whether Americans can have independent eyes and ears inside their own government. Congress is a coequal branch of government. Please ACT like one. I am asking you to publicly defend independent press access, demand an explanation from the White House, use Congress’s oversight authority, and support appropriate legislative or legal measures to prevent presidential administrations from retaliating against legitimate news organizations because of their coverage. And members of the press should understand the stakes as well: an attack on one legitimate news organization’s ability to cover the government is a threat to the independence of the entire press corps. This is a moment for solidarity, not silence. Presidents do not get to choose which journalists Americans are allowed to hear from. The First Amendment does not exist only for speech a president considers “fair.” Freedom of the press means something precisely when those in power dislike what is being reported. Congress: DO YOUR JOB. Defend the First Amendment. Defend independent journalism. Defend the American public’s right to know what its government is doing.