Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late Friday that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort — areas where the press has had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world's most powerful military.
Newly restricted areas include his office and those of his top aides and all of the different locations across the mammoth building where the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force maintain press offices.
The media will also be barred from offices of the Pentagon's senior military leadership, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, without Hegseth's approval and an escort from his aides. The staff of the Joint Chiefs has traditionally maintained a good relationship with the press.
Hegseth, the former Fox News Channel personality, issued his order via a posting on X late on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. He said it was necessary for national security.
''While the department remains committed to transparency, the department is equally obligated to protect (classified intelligence information) and sensitive information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of U.S. service members in danger,'' wrote Hegseth.
The Pentagon Press Association expressed skepticism that operational concerns were at play — and linked the move to previous actions by Hegseth's office that impede journalists and their coverage.
''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,'' it said in a statement Friday night. ''The Pentagon Press Association is extremely concerned by the decision to restrict movement of accredited journalists within the Pentagon through non-secured, unclassified hallways.''
Hegseth also said reporters will be required to sign a form to protect sensitive information and would be issued a new badge that more clearly identifies them as press. It was not clear whether signing the form would be a condition of continued access to the building.
