By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is imposing new restrictions on media coverage of the U.S. military, requiring news organizations to agree they will not disclose information that the government has not approved for release.
In a memo on Friday, the Department of Defense said journalists who publish unauthorized sensitive material could have their press credentials revoked. Media advocates said the restrictions would stifle independent reporting.
Asked by reporters outside the White House whether the Pentagon should be in charge of what the press can report, Trump replied on Sunday, “No, I don’t think so. Nothing stops reporters.” Trump was not specifically asked about the new policy.
The memo said news organizations will be required to acknowledge that disclosing, accessing or attempting to access sensitive information without authorization could be grounds for having their Pentagon press credentials denied or revoked.
The department “remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust. However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,” the memo stated, using the acronym for the Department of War. Trump has ordered the department to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress.
The move marks the latest instance of the Trump administration applying government pressure on media organizations in the U.S. that Trump has long viewed as biased against him. It also represents an expansion of restrictions on press access to the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host.
The memo said reporters who lose their credentials will be denied access to all U.S. military installations, which would include the Pentagon itself. Such a ban would raise serious questions about coverage of the U.S. military, from major Pentagon announcements to its actions in conflicts and disaster relief.
The move was quickly condemned by media organizations including the New York Times, Reuters, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal. The head of the National Press Club in Washington, which advocates for a free press, said it was a “direct assault” on independent journalism.
“If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see,” National Press Club President Mike Balsamo said in a statement.
More than two dozen news organizations operate at the Pentagon, including Reuters, reporting on the daily activities of the U.S. military.
Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a member of the Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives, criticized the restrictions in a post on X.
“A free press makes our country better,” Bacon wrote. “This sounds like more amateur hour.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that these “are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon.
In February, the department removed four media organizations from their designated Pentagon office spaces, beginning a rotation with other outlets that included right-leaning publications. In May, Hegseth also issued orders that require journalists to have official escorts within much of the Pentagon building.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Cynthia Osterman)
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