White House Reinstates Jim Acosta’s Press Pass, CNN Dropping Lawsuit

CNN announced Monday that the White House has reinstated correspondent Jim Acosta’s “hard pass,” prompting the network to drop its lawsuit against the administration over the reporter’s temporary suspension.

“Today the @WhiteHouse fully restored @Acosta‘s press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House,” CNN announced via Twitter.

Reacting to the news, Acosta took to Twitter to thank his over 1.1 million followers for their support: “Thanks to everybody for their support. As I said last Friday… let’s get back to work.”

Earlier, ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl reported the White House would no longer move to re-ban Acosta after President Trump warned the partisan reporter’s “hard pass” was still in jeopardy after a judge ordered the press credentials to be reinstated.

“A senior WH official tells me the White House is dropping its effort to ban Jim Acosta for his behavior at the Nov 7 press conference,” Karl tweeted. “The office says, however, the White House reserves the right to revoke Acosta’s pass if he violates White House decorum in the future.”

Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts shared a less descriptive version of Karl’s report moments earlier, tweeting: “SCOOP: @WhiteHouse to not seek revocation of @Acosta hard pass — sources.”

After a federal judge ordered that Acosta’s credentials be temporarily restored last week, the White House sent Acosta a letter saying it had made the “preliminary decision” to suspend his pass. The White House said Acosta would continue to hold his credentials while the 14-day judge’s order was in effect.

The White House argues Acosta did not follow “basic standards” when he scrapped with President Donald Trump at a news conference. The letter from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Communications Director Bill Shine, says that the president is “aware of this preliminary decision and concurs.”

CNN sought an emergency hearing, saying in a Monday court filing that the administration was creating “retroactive due process.” The network tweeted that the White House “is continuing to violate the First and Fifth amendments of the Constitution.”

The White House revoked Acosta’s credentials after he and President Trump tangled verbally during a November 7 press conference. In the Friday ruling, the judge restored Acosta’s credentials temporarily while a CNN lawsuit against the administration proceeds.

President Trump has called for more “decorum” at the White House and has said staff is “writing up rules and regulations” for reporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.