Overview

• Reporters were ordered to acknowledge the rules by Tuesday 5 p.m. or turn in badges within 24 hours, with loss of on‑site access expected to begin Wednesday.
• At least 20 organizations, including all five major TV networks plus AP, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and NPR, declined to sign, while One America News said it agreed.
• The policy requires acknowledgment of tightened escort rules and states that soliciting nonpublic information could lead to a reporter being deemed a security risk and stripped of credentials.
• Pentagon officials defended the measures as common‑sense safeguards, Pete Hegseth mocked critics on social media, and President Trump publicly backed the policy at the White House.
• Press groups say the rules would chill protected newsgathering and gag Defense Department employees, and newsrooms are weighing legal action after months of broader access cutbacks inside the Pentagon.