24-05-2025
Pete Hegseth Faces Backlash For Pentagon Press Crackdown: 'Direct Attack'
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing backlash after issuing orders on Friday restricting credentialed journalists from unescorted access to much of the Pentagon building.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Defense press office for comment on Saturday via email.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has long had a tempestuous relationship with much of the news media, who he has previously accused of spreading "fake news" and being "the enemy of the people."
In February the White House confirmed it had banned The Associated Press news agency from its press pool after the publication refused to go along with Trump's decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
What To Know
On Friday Hegseth issued a memorandum containing "updated physical control measures for press/media" within the Pentagon complex.
The document, which Hegseth shared on X, announced a number of changes designed to strengthen operational security and to "reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures."
Hegseth's memorandum prohibits credentialed journalists from accessing large sections of the Pentagon unless they are accompanied by an authorized person. It also said "Pentagon Press Corps members will be required to complete an updated in-briefing form explaining their responsibilities to protect CNSI [classified national security information] and sensitive information."
The move sparked a furious response from the Pentagon Press Association (PPA), which represents journalists working at the Pentagon.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a meeting between President Donald Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2025.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a meeting between President Donald Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2025.
Chip Somodevilla/GETTY
In a statement the PPA said: "There is no way to sugarcoat it. Today's memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America's right to know what its military is doing.
"The Pentagon Press Association is extremely concerned by the decision to restrict movement of accredited journalists within the Pentagon through non-secured, unclassified hallways."
The statement continued: "The decision is purportedly based on concerns about operational security. But the Pentagon Press Corps has had access to non-secured, unclassified spaces in the Pentagon for decades, under Republican and Democratic administrations, including in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, without any concern about OP-SEC from DoD leadership."
The PPA added: "Journalists working from the Pentagon everyday will now have less freedom of movement than officers from foreign countries who are assigned to the U.S. military's headquarters, as well as maintenance staff and concession workers scattered throughout one of the world's largest office buildings."
On X Idrees Ali, Reuters' national security correspondent based out of the Pentagon, commented: "As one individual put it, I'd have more access to the Pentagon if I quit as a journalist and worked at the Baskin-Robins that operates there."
Separately the U.S. Army plans to update the records of transgender service personnel to reflect their sex at birth according to an internal memo acquired by Reuters.
What Happens Next
Hegseth's move should give the Department of Defense greater control over who is speaking to journalists in the Pentagon and about what. Critics will likely continue arguing this is an infringement on the free press.
