Journalists turn in access badges, exit Pentagon rather than agree to
new reporting rules
[October 16, 2025]
By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of reporters turned in access badges and exited
the Pentagon on Wednesday rather than agree to government-imposed
restrictions on their work, pushing journalists who cover the American
military further from the seat of its power. The nation's leadership
called the new rules “common sense” to help regulate a “very disruptive”
press.
News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable
to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or
otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.
Many of the reporters waited to leave together at a 4 p.m. deadline set
by the Defense Department to get out of the building. As the hour
approached, boxes of documents lined a Pentagon corridor and reporters
carried chairs, a copying machine, books and old photos to the parking
lot from suddenly abandoned workspaces. Shortly after 4, about 40 to 50
journalists left together after handing in badges.
“It’s sad, but I’m also really proud of the press corps that we stuck
together,” said Nancy Youssef, a reporter for The Atlantic who has had a
desk at the Pentagon since 2007. She took a map of the Middle East out
to her car.
It is unclear what practical impact the new rules will have, though news
organizations vowed they’d continue robust coverage of the military no
matter the vantage point.
Images of reporters effectively demonstrating against barriers to their
work are unlikely to move supporters of President Donald Trump, many of
whom resent journalists and cheer his efforts to make their jobs harder.
Trump has been involved in court fights against The New York Times, CBS
News, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in the
past year.
Trump supports the new rules
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump backed his
defense secretary’s new rules. “I think he finds the press to be very
disruptive in terms of world peace,” Trump said. “The press is very
dishonest.”
Even before issuing his new press policy, Hegseth, a former Fox News
Channel host, has systematically choked off the flow of information.
He’s held only two formal press briefings, banned reporters from
accessing many parts of the sprawling Pentagon without an escort and
launched investigations into leaks to the media.
He has called his new rules “common sense” and said the requirement that
journalists sign a document outlining the rules means they acknowledge
the new rules, not necessarily agree to them. Journalists see that as a
distinction without a difference.
“What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the
journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism,” said
Jack Keane, a retired U.S. Army general and Fox News analyst, said on
Hegseth’s former network.
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Members of the Pentagon press corp gather for a group photo after
turning in their press credentials, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 in
Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
When he served, Keane said he required new brigadier generals to
take a class on the role of the media in a democracy so they
wouldn’t be intimidated and also see reporters as a conduit to the
American public. “There were times when stories were done that made
me flinch a little bit,” he said. “But that’s usually because we had
done something that wasn’t as good as we should have done it.”
Youssef said it made no sense to sign on to rules that said
reporters should not solicit military officials for information. “To
agree to not solicit information is to agree to not be a
journalist,” she said. “Our whole goal is soliciting information.”
Reporting on US military affairs will continue — from a greater
distance
Several reporters posted on social media when they turned in their
press badges.
“It’s such a tiny thing, but I was really proud to see my picture up
on the wall of Pentagon correspondents,” wrote Heather Mongilio, a
reporter for USNINews, which covers the Navy. “Today, I’ll hand in
my badge. The reporting will continue.”
Mongilio, Youssef and others emphasized that they’ll continue to do
their jobs no matter where their desks are. Some sources will
continue to speak with them, although they say some in the military
have been chilled by threats from Pentagon leadership.
In an essay, NPR reporter Tom Bowman noted the many times he’d been
tipped off by people he knew from the Pentagon and while embedded in
the military about what was happening, even if it contradicted
official lines put out by leadership. Many understand the media’s
role.
“They knew the American public deserved to know what’s going on,”
Bowman wrote. “With no reporters able to ask questions, it seems the
Pentagon leadership will continue to rely on slick social media
posts, carefully orchestrated short videos and interviews with
partisan commentators and podcasters. No one should think that’s
good enough.”
The Pentagon Press Association, whose 101 members represent 56 news
outlets, has spoken out against the rules. Organizations from across
the media spectrum, from legacy organizations like The Associated
Press and The New York Times to outlets like Fox and the
conservative Newsmax, told their reporters to leave instead of
signing the new rules.
Only the conservative One America News Network signed on. Its
management likely believes it will have greater access to Trump
administration officials by showing its support, Gabrielle Cuccia, a
former Pentagon reporter who was fired by OANN earlier this year for
writing an online column criticizing Hegseth’s media policies, told
the AP in an interview.
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