The ban deepens the standoff between the US War Department and the media
The Pentagon has barred journalists from entering its press office after redesignating it a classified space, the latest in a series of restrictions on reporters’ access to the department.
First reported by the Washington Post late on Monday, the move was confirmed by Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez, who said journalists would no longer be permitted to enter the office because speechwriters working for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth routinely handle classified information there. Access to senior public affairs officials would remain available by appointment.
“This is the most transparent War Department in history,” Valdez wrote on X, adding “No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.”
This is the most transparent War Department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.
The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War… https://t.co/tlWb1XIeOk
— Acting Press Sec Joel Valdez (@JoelValdezDOW) June 1, 2026
The restriction affects an office that for decades served as a central point of contact between journalists and Pentagon officials. Reporters were previously able to visit the area to seek comment from public affairs staff, attend informal briefings, and interact with officials without escorts.
The latest move comes amid a widening confrontation between the Pentagon and the US media under Hegseth, a former Fox News host appointed by President Donald Trump. More than a year into his tenure, the department has imposed a series of restrictions on reporters, including escort requirements inside the building and limits on access to previously open areas.
The Pentagon later required journalists to pledge that they would not seek information that had not been authorized for release, including unclassified material. Major US outlets, including Fox News, CNN, the Associated Press, and The New York Times, refused to sign the agreement, while hundreds of reporters surrendered their Pentagon credentials in protest.
The restrictions triggered multiple lawsuits. In March, a federal judge struck down key parts of the policy after a lawsuit filed by the NYT. The Pentagon appealed the ruling and subsequently introduced an interim requirement that journalists be escorted while inside the building. The newspaper filed a second lawsuit in May, arguing that the policy amounts to an unconstitutional attempt to restrict independent reporting on military affairs. The litigation remains ongoing.
Hegseth has repeatedly accused major media outlets of spreading “fake news” and described the reporting on the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran as an “endless stream of garbage,” comparing the Pentagon media pool to the biblical Pharisees.
