Warren Warns States Not to Settle Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Fight
Senator Elizabeth Warren says it would be a “massive mistake” for states to settle their legal fight over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, as President Donald Trump moves to bar CNN from the White House, according to Variety.
Trump said on 18 September 2026 that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over what he called fake news reporting, according to Reuters. He made the announcement in a Truth Social post and said he might bar other outlets as well, according to Reuters.
CNN journalists were denied access to White House grounds on Saturday morning, according to Variety. It is not the first press access clash. In 2025, the White House briefly banned The Associated Press from the press pool, prompting a legal battle, according to CNN.
Warren linked the press ban directly to the merger battle. She called the Paramount-Warner Bros. combination dangerous and said the last thing needed is another Trump-controlled media conglomerate abusing power to stamp out competition, according to Variety. She warned that the CNN ban is a sign of things to come if Paramount Skydance settles with the states and is allowed to merge with Warner Bros.
The lawsuit has already stalled the deal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading 12 states in challenging the proposed 110 billion US dollar acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the California Attorney General's office. The complaint, filed as Case No. 4:26-cv-07116 on 13 July 2026, alleges the merger would extinguish competition between Paramount and Warner Bros.
The states argue the deal violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, the US law that blocks mergers which may substantially reduce competition, according to the California Attorney General's office. Bonta’s office later secured an emergency order halting the merger while the case continues.
That halt may not hold. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that Paramount Skydance is in advanced talks with Bonta and the other states to settle the antitrust suit, meaning the competition-law challenge, according to Variety. No settlement has been announced.
What makes this stand out is the collision of two calendars. One is a court timetable in California. The other is a White House press fight playing out in public. For viewers, this means the future shape of two major studios now sits alongside a wider argument about press access and media power.
