Overview

• Under a 17-page memo distributed Friday, credentialed reporters must sign an agreement not to obtain or publish information unless it is approved for release, including controlled unclassified material, or risk suspension or revocation of credentials.
• The directive tightens physical access with new badges and escort requirements that place large areas of the building off-limits, with implementation set to roll out over the next two to three weeks.
• Defense officials say the rules are needed to prevent unauthorized disclosures that could endanger national security, while Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote that the press is no longer permitted to roam the halls.
• Media organizations and press-freedom groups, including the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and editors at major outlets, condemned the policy, and Rep. Don Bacon criticized it as harmful to a free press.
• President Donald Trump said the Pentagon should not decide what reporters can report, a public contrast with the policy, which follows earlier office evictions and May movement limits after high-profile leak episodes.