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Several major U.S. news organizations, including The New York Times, The Associated Press, and conservative network Newsmax, said Monday they will not sign a new Defense Department document governing press access, a move that could see their reporters expelled from the Pentagon under the Trump administration’s new media policy.
The outlets argue the policy would punish journalists for routine newsgathering protected under the First Amendment. The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Reuters also joined the boycott, with AP confirming Monday afternoon it would not sign the document.
“Reuters is bound by its commitment to accurate, impartial and independent news,” the wire service said in a statement. “The Pentagon’s new restrictions erode these fundamental values.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the backlash, reposting the Times’ statement on X with a hand-waving emoji. His office has said that journalists who do not sign the acknowledgment by Tuesday must return their Pentagon credentials and vacate their workspaces the following day.
Under the new rules, reporters would lose unescorted access to much of the Pentagon and could have credentials revoked for asking Defense Department officials for information not pre-approved by Hegseth’s office — even if the material is unclassified.
Newsmax, which typically supports President Donald Trump’s policies, also declined to sign. “We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon will review the matter further,” the network said.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the new rules “common sense media procedures,” accusing reporters of “crying victim online.”
“The policy does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is,” Parnell said. “We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and national security.”
Press advocates and legal scholars say the new acknowledgment amounts to an unconstitutional gag order. “Signing the statement would effectively admit that reporting unapproved information harms national security. That’s simply not true,” said David Schulz, director of Yale University’s Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic.
The Pentagon Press Association said Monday that while the department can set access rules, “there is no need or justification for it to require reporters to affirm their understanding of vague, likely unconstitutional policies as a precondition to reporting.”
The New York Times Washington bureau chief Richard Stevenson said the public’s right to know is at stake. “Taxpayers pay nearly $1 trillion annually to the U.S. military,” Stevenson said. “They deserve to understand how the government and military are operating.”
The move marks the latest escalation in President Trump’s combative relationship with the press. His administration has filed or supported lawsuits against The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and sought to defund government-run media such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
