By Scott Nover / Washington Post / October 15, 2025
The nation’s military and defense journalists exited the Pentagon in unison Wednesday afternoon, having had their accreditation revoked after refusing to agree to the Defense Department’s new restrictions on their newsgathering activities.
The new rules, which among other things bar reporters from soliciting information that the government hasn’t authorized for them, prompted journalists from The Washington Post and dozens of other outlets to turn in their press credentials and decamp for possibly the last time during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure.
More than 30 members of the Pentagon press corps walked out of the building together before the 5 p.m. deadline, crossing a foot bridge and descending a long staircase that empties out on the northeast end of the five-sided building.
“This is a sad day for those who support a free press,” said Nancy A. Youssef, a staff writer for the Atlantic and a longtime Pentagon correspondent. “But I’m incredibly honored to be part of a press corps that stuck together and was committed to protecting our First Amendment rights.”
The Defense Department cited security concerns in putting forward the new regulations, which include provisions to curtail the media’s access to large parts of the department’s vast headquarters where they were previously allowed to circulate.
In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “The guidelines in the memo provided to credentialed resident media at the Pentagon reaffirms the standards that are already in line with every other military base in the country. These are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon.”
Negotiations with the Pentagon Press Association over the new policy led to some changes but didn’t fully allay media members’ concerns. The PPA said Wednesday that most of its members had not signed on to the new policy “over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.”
The press corps spent the day clearing their desks, in some cases carting out remnants of years in the building — a yellowed Rolodex; a red-, white- and blue-corded Ameritech phone from the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago. A pale sticky note clinging to a pile of folders that read: “Rumsfeld trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan. Dec. 20-25, 2005.”
Television networks tore down their broadcast booths, full of technical gear and soundproofing equipment, that had been used for live shots from the Pentagon. Journalists lugged out boxes and rolled suitcases full of gear. Hand trucks and black roller bins carried the bulk of personal belongings and even trash.
The mood was heavy — reporters hugged and some shed tears. “It kind of reminds me of a college dorm move-out without the happiness of summer,” said one reporter, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.
Another said they were thanked throughout the day by civilian staffers and military personnel within the Pentagon. “I’m shocked by the number of people stopping me in the hallway today to say ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Thank you,’” the reporter said. “Generals and admirals and people telling me that they appreciate us. People I don’t even know.”
Here below is the latest from Scott Nover, from today, October 17.
Hundreds of people cover the Pentagon. These are the 15 who signed its new press policy.
The Federalist, the Epoch Times and One America News signed the Defense Department’s press rules. The rest are freelancers, independent or work for media outfits based overseas.
Only 15 people had signed the Defense Department’s new press policy as of Thursday afternoon, according to an internal government document viewed by The Washington Post.
Journalists from nearly every major U.S. news outlet, including The Washington Post, turned in their press badges Wednesday after refusing to adhere to the new rules for reporters at the Pentagon, which prohibit soliciting any information the government doesn’t authorize reporters to have. But a contingent of smaller outlets, foreign media, freelancers and MAGA-friendly press did sign on.
The list of signatories included four reporters from right-wing outlets: one from the website the Federalist, one from the Epoch Times newspaper, and two from the cable network One America News.
“After thorough review of the revised press policy by our attorney, OAN staff has signed the document,” the network’s president, Charles Herring, said in a statement earlier this week that he confirmed Wednesday evening.
The Federalist did not respond to requests for comment. CEO Sean Davis and editor in chief Mollie Hemingway wrote on X that they reviewed the press policy and found “zero new restrictions” on journalists’ ability to report or criticize the government.
“We look forward to eagerly covering the Pentagon, both on-site and from a distance, with the same fearlessness and courage and devotion to the truth that we have exhibited since we were created,” they wrote. “And if the new guidelines result in fewer professional con artists and media hoaxers roaming the halls looking for new lies to peddle, so be it.”
The Federalist, the Epoch Times and OAN broke with most other conservative media outlets — including Fox News, Newsmax, the Washington Examiner, the Washington Times and the Daily Caller — all of which refused to sign the document. Newsmax, run by Christopher Ruddy, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, called the press requirements “unnecessary and onerous.”
The remaining signatories included foreign outlets, freelancers for foreign-based publications and a couple of more obscure independent publishers largely posting their work on social media.
A reporter for the Turkish newspaper Ak?am signed the agreement, as did three individuals from the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and two Turkish freelancers. Other signers included a reporter for the Australian, a News Corp-owned Australian paper; an Afghan freelancer; and three lesser-known operations, AWPS News, the India Globe and a blog called USA Journal Korea.
After this story was published, the Australian reversed course and revoked its assent to the Pentagon’s press policies. “They raise serious concerns and place undue limits on press freedoms,” a spokesperson wrote late Thursday.
Two people from Jordanian TV broadcaster Al Taghier signed the wrong version of the press policy. (The policy was updated after pushback from the Pentagon Press Association, which represents the Defense Department press corps, and the press freedom group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.)
Kristina Anderson of AWPS News, which she described as producing short-form reporting for social media, said she felt “a profound sense of loss as I walk the Pentagon’s Correspondent spaces today.” Other outlets and individuals who signed the document didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Pentagon Press Association says it has more than 100 members from 57 news outlets, domestic and international. Not all accredited correspondents are members of the PPA.
The Pentagon didn’t respond to a request for comment on the list Thursday. Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, reissued an earlier statement that termed the new rules “common sense media procedures.”
“The policy does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is,” he wrote. “This has caused reporters to have a full blown meltdown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country.”
