The Pentagon has taken another significant step in restricting press access, redesignating its press office as a classified facility and barring journalists from entering a move that has intensified tensions between the Defense Department and major US news organisations.
Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the change on X, saying the office had been converted into a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) because speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War who routinely handle classified material now work in the space. “There’s nothing controversial about that,” Valdez wrote, insisting the shift was purely procedural.
For decades, Pentagon reporters enjoyed broad access inside the building, using their credentials to move freely and engage with officials. That changed dramatically last October when most news outlets surrendered their access badges rather than accept new restrictions imposed by the government.
The dispute has since escalated into a legal battle. The New York Times filed a second lawsuit against the Defense Department on May 18, arguing that the Pentagon’s requirement for journalists to be escorted at all times violates the First Amendment and represents an unconstitutional attempt to limit independent reporting on military affairs. The paper had already sued in December over earlier restrictions introduced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A federal judge struck down those initial rules in March, prompting the Pentagon to issue an interim policy which the judge later ruled also violated his order. However, the escort requirement remains in place after an appeals court temporarily stayed part of the ruling while the government challenges it.
The redesignation of the press office adds yet another layer to the standoff, coming at a time when the second Trump administration’s relationship with the media has grown increasingly combative, both publicly and in the courts.
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