A federal judge has ordered the White House to reinstate the hard pass that was previously taken from Jim Acosta, allowing him to return to the White House press pool.

The ruling is an initial victory for CNN, though not an official ruling on the merits of the case. Rather, it is a restraining order against the White House’s actions against Acosta while the case moves forward.

Judge Timothy Kelly, who made the decision, is a Trump appointee.

The ruling is a mixed bag. While many may lament the showboating antics of Acosta returning to the press pool, the ruling itself – based on the arguments made by the Trump administration – is being praised by even conservatives as a First Amendment victory.

This is exactly the right result. The viewpoint discrimination was apparent from the beginning. Trump's lawyers argued a maximalist position (that they could bar anyone for basically any reason) because the facts were so bad. Excellent news for the First Amendment. https://t.co/59znErBW50

— David French (@DavidAFrench) November 16, 2018

It appears that the Trump administration made a bad argument to defend a good decision. Acosta is still a distraction from actual news reporting, and this will be yet another news cycle that is more about him than anything else.

Not to mention, this victory will allow him to have an even bigger head and encourage him to make even bigger scenes at press events.

May God help us all.