Overview
- The Pentagon set a Tuesday deadline to acknowledge the new policy or surrender badges by Wednesday, and nearly every major outlet declined to comply.
- ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox issued a joint statement calling the requirements without precedent and pledging continued independent coverage.
- The policy requires reporters to acknowledge they could be deemed security risks and lose credentials, citing the act of soliciting nonpublic information even as it notes publication is generally protected.
- Press associations say the rules gag Defense Department employees and chill routine reporting, and some newsrooms are weighing legal options.
- Beginning Wednesday, no major U.S. network or publication will maintain a permanent presence inside the Pentagon for the first time since the Eisenhower era, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends the rules and President Trump voices support.