Dozens of journalists from virtually every major American news organization walked out of the Pentagon on October 15, surrendering their government-issued press badges rather than agree to unprecedented restrictions on their reporting imposed by the Trump administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, issued a 21-page policy requiring journalists to acknowledge they would need formal authorization to publish any information—classified or unclassified—that had not been explicitly approved by Pentagon officials for release.
Under the new rules, reporters who ask Defense Department personnel for unauthorized information could be labeled as “security or safety risks” and have their credentials revoked. The policy also severely restricts physical access within the Pentagon, requiring journalists to be escorted when moving through the building and eliminating their ability to have spontaneous conversations with military officials.
The Pentagon gave news organizations until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, to sign the new agreement or surrender their credentials within 24 hours.
Between 40 and 50 reporters exited the building together shortly after the 4 p.m. deadline set by the Department of Defense, carrying boxes of documents, office equipment, books, and personal belongings from workspaces they had occupied for years—and in some cases, decades.
In a display of unity across the political spectrum, the five major broadcast networks issued a joint statement: “Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections.”
The scene marked a historic rupture in the relationship between the Pentagon and the American press corps, ending over 60 years of permanent media presence inside the building.
As of Thursday, only 15 reporters out of more than 100 credentialed Pentagon journalists had signed the new policy. The signatory list included two reporters from One America News Network, one from The Federalist, one from The Epoch Times, and 11 others consisting primarily of freelancers from foreign outlets, including Turkish and Australian publications, and writers from obscure independent websites.
President Trump backed Hegseth’s policy during a White House briefing on Tuesday. Trump also suggested he could impose similar restrictions on the White House press corps.
Months before imposing the restrictive reporting rules that triggered the mass walkout, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began systematically removing established news organizations from their permanent Pentagon workspaces. In February 2025, the administration evicted NBC News, The New York Times, NPR, and Politico from offices they had occupied for decades, replacing them with conservative outlets including One America News Network, Breitbart News, the Washington Examiner, and the Daily Caller.
