Reporters have been barred from the Pentagon press office after the Trump administration this week declared it a “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.”
Designating the office where military public information officers work as a “classified area” is an escalation of a campaign by the Department of Defense to restrict press access to the building.
Acting press secretary Joel Valdez, who called the department “the most transparent” in history, said there was nothing controversial about the decision because speechwriters for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are sharing the office.
“These speechwriters routinely handle classified material,” Mr. Valdez said in a statement. “As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space.”
He said the Pentagon speechwriters require access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, known as SIPRNet. It is the Defense Department’s classified intranet system to transmit and store data up to the Secret level.
“Access to the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and to the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only,” Mr. Valdez posted on X.
For years, credentialed reporters were granted wide access to the Pentagon while interacting with military and press officials. However, reporters for most news outlets, including The Washington Times, turned in their badges in October 2025 rather than agree to government restrictions on their work.
The National Press Club called on the Defense Department to reverse the decision designating the Pentagon press office as a classified area and restore “meaningful access” for credentialed reporters.
“Calling a press workspace ’classified’ does not make the government more transparent. It creates yet another obstacle between journalists and the information Americans have a right to know, especially when the public needs clear, unfiltered information about the U.S. military,” National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said Monday in a statement.
The board of Military Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit that represents journalists who cover the military and national defense, condemned the decision to bar reporters from the Pentagon press office.
“A public affairs office that journalists cannot access is a contradiction in terms,” the group said in a statement. “The public affairs office is not where secrets are protected. It is where information is provided to the public on behalf of the Defense Department.”
The New York Times has filed two lawsuits in federal court against the Defense Department, challenging a lack of press access and escort requirements at the Pentagon. Although a federal judge sided with the media, an appellate court said the restrictions could remain in effect during the legal proceedings.
