Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth imposed access rules conditioning Pentagon credentials on compliance with restrictions that bar soliciting nonpublic information and allow pass revocation or criminal referral for violations.
• After broad refusals to sign, dozens of Pentagon reporters returned badges and left in-building posts, with virtually every major outlet declining the terms and One America News identified as the lone major outlet to agree.
• The Pentagon revised its initial memo to drop explicit prepublication approval but retained tighter badge controls, escort requirements, and penalties tied to seeking information not cleared for release.
• President Donald Trump publicly supported Hegseth's approach, while the Pentagon Press Association and multiple outlets called the policy an attempt to stifle a free press, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam labeled it an attack on First Amendment protections.
• Hegseth also tightened Defense Department inspector general procedures with rapid timelines and a 30‑day closure mandate for command investigations, changes critics such as Sen. Jack Reed say curtail oversight.