CNN, MS NOW and Politico said Monday they planned to file a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar their reporters from the White House. The organizations said they notified the government that they were seeking to protect their First Amendment rights after reporters were excluded from White House grounds on Saturday. The outlets said their journalists’ credentials were revoked without notice or an opportunity to contest the decision because the administration objected to their reporting. “Government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the organizations said in a joint statement, arguing that the ban threatens the public’s access to independent journalism. President Donald Trump announced the restrictions Friday, accusing the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he described as “FAKE NEWS.” In a post on Truth Social, Trump said media organizations should not be allowed to report what he characterized as fiction and lies about the president, his administration or the country. He also suggested that reporters from additional outlets could be barred, but did not identify them. The White House had not publicly responded to the planned lawsuit as of Monday morning. Jacqui Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents Association and a Fox News White House correspondent, called the exclusions a First Amendment violation. She said a policy used to shut out one organization because of its coverage could eventually be applied to any news outlet. “The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power,” Heinrich said. The dispute echoes a 2018 fight between the Trump White House and CNN correspondent Jim Acosta. The administration revoked Acosta’s press credentials after a contentious exchange with Trump during a news conference. CNN sued, and the case ended after the White House restored Acosta’s access. The current conflict raises broader questions about how much control a president may exercise over access to the White House, a workplace that serves as a central site for government announcements and questioning. While administrations have managed press access in different ways, First Amendment advocates have long argued that officials cannot use credentials to retaliate against journalists for disfavored coverage.