Overview
- More than 30 U.S. news organizations — including AP, Reuters, the major broadcast networks and Fox News — refused to sign and surrendered in-building credentials by Wednesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
- The 21-page policy conditions access on acknowledging restrictions that allow officials to deem reporters security risks for soliciting nonpublic information and to revoke badges.
- Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the policy as a simple acknowledgment of rules, and President Trump publicly backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s approach.
- Only about 15 credentialed reporters remain, led by One America News and a mix of freelancers and foreign outlets, leaving no major U.S. newsroom with a permanent presence inside.
- The Pentagon Press Association and dozens of outlets called the rules unprecedented and chilling, pledged robust coverage from outside the building, and Pentagon officials anticipate legal challenges.