The Pentagon unveiled new restrictions on reporters covering the Defense Department (DOD) on Friday, asking them to pledge not to publish information that has not been authorized by the administration or risk losing access to the building.
“[The Department of War] remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust,” the Defense Department wrote in a memo, using President Trump’s updated title though it is not official without Congressional approval. “However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”
“Failure to abide by these rules may result in suspension or revocation of your building pass and loss of access,” the department continued in the 17-page document circulated to news organizations.
The Pentagon argued that unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a security risk that could hinder national security and place DOD personnel in “jeopardy.”
The move is part of an effort by the Trump administration to help quash leaks to the media and continue to impose restrictions on the news outlets. In the note, the Pentagon also said it would limit the allowed movement of reporters within the building, marking large areas unavailable unless journalists have escorts.
“If news media require access to other areas or offices within the Pentagon for in-person interviews or other engagements, they must be escorted to and from those spaces by authorized DoW personnel,” the department wrote.
The DOD, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, already banned reporters from certain areas of the building in May, unless they had prior approval or someone to escort them.
“The guidelines in the memo provided to credentialed resident media at the Pentagon reaffirms the standards that are already in line with every other military base in the country,” Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. “These are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon.”
The National Press Club (NPC) characterized the changes as a “direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the U.S. military.”
“Independent reporting on the military is essential to democracy. It is what allows citizens to hold leaders accountable and ensures that decisions of war and peace are made in the light of day,” NPC President Mike Balsamo said in a statement on Friday. “This pledge undermines that principle, and the National Press Club calls on the Pentagon to rescind it immediately.”
The Pentagon moved some news organizations out of their workspaces earlier this year and brought in “new media” outlets whose coverage the administration views as more favorable.
The New York Times, NPR, Politico, NBC News had their spaces vacated, which were then filled by The New York Post, Breitbart News, HuffPost and One America News Network.
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do,” Hegseth said Friday on social platform X. “The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility.”
He added, “Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home.”
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