Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Pentagon barred reporters from its press office by redesignating the room a classified facility
Acting press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed on June 1, 2026 that journalists could no longer enter, nine months into a series of access restrictions that a judge had largely ruled against.
What happened
On June 1, 2026, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed that journalists would no longer be allowed into the Pentagon press office. He said it had been “redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility.” Public-affairs leaders became reachable by appointment only. The Washington Post first reported the move.
Beginning in September 2025, the Defense Department required reporters to pledge not to gather any information that had not been approved for release. Most legacy outlets refused and surrendered their press passes. The department closed the Correspondents’ Corridor and announced a “next generation” press corps of 60 journalists from far-right outlets.
The New York Times sued, and in March 2026 a federal judge ruled largely in its favor. The department responded with an interim rule barring reporters from the building without an escort, which the judge said violated his order. An appeals court stayed part of that ruling. The Times filed a second suit in May.
Who benefited
Secretary Pete Hegseth and the department’s political leadership gained a press environment of approved outlets and controlled briefings. The redesignation achieved by administrative label what the court had blocked by rule.
Who wanted something
Hegseth had ordered the pledge policy and denounced the press corps as a security risk. His communications staff, including Valdez, executed each step. The White House had run a parallel campaign against the press pool and the Associated Press. Valdez wrote: “This is the most transparent war department in history.”
Who lost out
Pentagon reporters, who had worked out of the press office for decades, lost their access, and the public lost independent coverage of the military. The New York Times and other outlets were forced into repeated litigation to keep basic access. The court order the department worked around lost its effect.
Why it matters
A room built for the press was reclassified so the press could not enter it, after a court had said reporters could not be excluded. Security designations let the department defeat a ruling on press access without formally defying it.
Sources AP NewsThe HillThe Guardian