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Dozens of journalists turned in their Pentagon access badges and left the building on Wednesday (October 15) as they refused to comply with new restrictions imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, per the Associated Press.
The rules would allow the government to expel reporters for publishing any information, classified or not, that hadn’t been approved by Hegseth.
On Wednesday, nearly 50 reporters gathered their belongings and exited the Pentagon, carrying out boxes, documents, office chairs, and personal mementos.
“It’s sad, but I’m also really proud of the press corps that we stuck together,” Nancy Youssef of The Atlantic, a Pentagon reporter since 2007, said as she brought a map of the Middle East to her car.
The new guidelines require reporters to sign a document acknowledging the rules, which include a clause barring them from soliciting information from military officials, a condition many journalists say undercuts basic reporting.
“To agree to not solicit information is to agree to not be a journalist,” Youssef said.
The Defense Department labeled the new restrictions as "common sense." President Donald Trump also backed the policy, telling reporters Tuesday (October 14), “I think [Hegseth] finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace. The press is very dishonest.”
Critics condemned the move as an attempt to control the media. News organizations across the political spectrum rejected the policy, including The New York Times, Fox News, Newsmax, and The Associated Press. Only One America News Network (OANN) agreed to the terms.
“What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism,” retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News analyst, said.
Despite the restrictions, reporters pledged to continue covering the military from outside the Pentagon.
“Today, I’ll hand in my badge. The reporting will continue,” USNI News reporter Heather Mongillo wrote on social media.
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