Pete Hegseth is doubling down on the Pentagon’s new restrictions for the press corps, arguing it will not change despite complaints from the press.
“I think the American people see things like that as absolute common sense,” the Defense secretary told Fox News on Sunday. “The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want, we’re taking these things seriously. They can report, they just need to make sure they’re following rules.”
Since Hegseth took office in January, the Pentagon has altered multiple aspects of its media policy, while rebranding the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” something Congress must still sign off on to make it official.
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According to a Sept. 19 memo, credentialed reporters must sign an agreement acknowledging that department information must be “approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a Sept. 24 letter to the RCFP that the restriction against revealing classified information applies to department officials, not journalists. But the 17-page memo notes that a reporter’s credential may be revoked due to “unauthorized disclosure” of classified national security information or controlled unclassified information.
In May, the Pentagon also restricted media members from entering certain areas without an official escort. The press corps were previously restricted from entering designated areas, but could access much of the building without an escort.
The September memo also said reporters seeking access to areas for in-person interviews or other engagements “must be escorted to and from those spaces by authorized” officials.
“We’re setting clear rules at the Pentagon,” Hegseth said Sunday. “We’re not playing games.”
The rules have sparked a backlash from press freedom groups. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) said Sept. 20 it was “deeply alarmed” by the new restrictions.
“This policy reeks of prior restraint — the most egregious violation of press freedom under the First Amendment — and is a dangerous step toward government censorship,” the SPJ added. “Attempts to silence the press under the guise of ‘security’ are part of a disturbing pattern of growing government hostility toward transparency and democratic norms.”