Overview

• A Pentagon memo now requires credentialed reporters to pledge not to obtain or use unauthorized material, with violations risking loss of credentials.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office had already reassigned media workspaces, including evicting CNN, and limited access to areas that now require escorts.
• Major outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and NPR condemned the move, and reporters publicly said they will not sign the pledge.
• Media lawyers such as the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Seth Stern argue the policy functions as an unconstitutional prior restraint on publication.
• President Trump said the Pentagon should not decide what reporters can report, while Democrats and Republican Rep. Don Bacon criticized the policy as its enforcement and legal fate remain uncertain.