WASHINGTON — In a sweeping move that critics say marks a new low for press freedom at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday issued a directive requiring that credentialed journalists be escorted throughout most of the Department of Defense headquarters unless they receive specific approval.
The order, which took effect immediately, restricts independent movement for reporters inside the Pentagon’s Arlington, Virginia complex, a space that has traditionally been accessible to the press under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
“While the Department remains committed to transparency, the Department is equally obligated to protect CSNI [classified national security information] and sensitive information,” Hegseth wrote in a memorandum defending the move. He described safeguarding such information as “an unwavering imperative” to protect U.S. service members.
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents military reporters, swiftly condemned the directive, calling it a “direct attack on the freedom of the press.”
“For decades — even in the days following 9/11 — credentialed reporters have had access to unclassified areas of the Pentagon,” the association said. “This sudden shift under the Trump administration is deeply troubling and unjustified.”
The access restrictions are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape media access at the Department of Defense. The Pentagon recently evicted longstanding outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post from their press offices in favor of a new rotation system.
That system has since admitted Trump-friendly outlets including Breitbart, One America News Network, the Daily Caller, and the New York Post.
The administration has framed the rotation as an effort to “broaden representation” in the Pentagon press corps, but critics see it as an attempt to sideline mainstream outlets that have published critical coverage.
The administration’s clampdown on media access coincides with a Pentagon probe into leaks that has already led to three officials being placed on administrative leave. Additionally, some Department of Homeland Security employees have reportedly been told they could be fired for refusing lie detector tests, a tactic being used to root out leakers of unclassified information, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump, now in his second term, has repeatedly vowed to punish federal employees who leak to the media and has escalated internal efforts to track and punish sources of unauthorized disclosures.
Hegseth’s memo also announced that Pentagon press corps members will receive new credentials, which will more visibly mark them as members of the media. The document warns that additional security measures and tighter credentialing procedures are expected soon.
“This is not about transparency,” one journalist with long-standing Pentagon access said anonymously. “It’s about controlling the narrative — and it’s unprecedented.”
While Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended the decision as necessary to “keep U.S. service members protected from preventable risks,” the growing list of Trump-era press restrictions continues to draw alarm among journalists, civil liberties groups, and lawmakers.
