Defense secretary’s move outlined in memo seemingly punishes media for reporting on leaks inside department

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth moved on Friday to dramatically curtail press access inside the Pentagon, seemingly punishing the news media for reporting on leaks of classified and unclassified information in recent weeks.

The changes, announced in a two-page memo issued by Hegseth, effectively boxed credentialed reporters into one corner on one floor of the building that houses the press office and spaces used by news organizations.

To walk anywhere else in the Pentagon, including past areas occupied by the joint chiefs and the press office for the joint chiefs, reporters will need to request permission and be escorted by an official, the memo said.

Reporters will also be banned from accessing the Pentagon Athletic Center and be issued new credentials which more clearly state the words “PRESS” on the badge. The current credential has the letters written in regular size at the bottom.

Hegseth said in the memo that he was adding the most draconian access restrictions in decades in order to limit the number of leaks coming from the Pentagon.

But it was not clear how limiting access to unclassified and non-secured hallways where military foreign military officials assigned to the Pentagon regularly walk around would stop leaks, suggesting the measures were more punitive.

Hegseth has taken an adversarial posture towards the news media since his arrival, including by ejecting a number of news organizations like the New York Times, CNN, Politico and NPR from their dedicated workspaces inside the building.

“There is no way to sugarcoat it. Today’s memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing,” the board of the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement that also questioned why Hegseth had failed to hold a press briefing in his first 100 days.

The Pentagon has been beset by leaks since Hegseth took over and, in March, the secretary launched an investigation into at least nine separate disclosures that ranged from unflattering personal stories about his use of Signal group chats to policy deliberations.

The investigation also developed a criminal component after allegedly classified information about flexible options for the US military to take control of the Panama canal, including by sending US troops, emerged in news reports.

In an attempt to stop the leaks, Hegseth also summarily fired three top aides last month: his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, senior adviser Dan Caldwell and the deputy defense secretary’s chief of staff Colin Carroll.

The firings appear to have had no effect on the leaks. The Guardian has reported on leaks about the leak investigation itself. Other outlets have reported on leaks from the defense department inspector general’s probe into Hegseth’s use of signal.

The new restrictions at the Pentagon are comparable in many ways to the limited press access at the White House

, where reporters have unescorted access to the press office area, the briefing room and where news organizations keep workspaces.

But the Pentagon is set to be more restricted than other major executive branch agencies, including law-enforcement entities usch as the justice department, where reporters with a permanent badge can walk around the first floor of the building unescorted.

Under pressure, undeterred

For 204 years, the Guardian has pursued independent journalism with purpose, rigour and resolve. But now, in 2025, we face new kinds of challenges, of a type largely unimaginable in the past.

The economic foundations of the news industry have been dismantled by powerful technology platforms. Over the past two decades, thousands of newspapers around the world have closed or shrunk beyond recognition. In their place, social media networks have flooded public discourse with misinformation.

At the same time, journalists are under growing political pressure. From exclusion and censorship to harassment and violence, those who seek to hold power to account are being silenced. Authoritarian and anti-democratic leaders are working to weaken press freedom and take control of the information space.

This is not a distant threat. It is happening now. And it strikes at the heart of truth, accountability and democracy.