Reporters exit Pentagon over Hegseth’s restrictions

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.

- By Davip BAUDER

KEVIN WOLF Associated Press MEMBERS of the Pentagon press corps walk out of the building after turning in their access badges.

The U.S. government has called the new rules “common sense.”

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 work-spaces. 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 effect the new rules will have, though news organizations vowed they'd continue robust coverage of the military no matter the vantage point.