The Department of Defense issued a press policy in autumn 2025 conditioning Pentagon credentials on agreement to new restrictions on reporting and movement within the building. The Pentagon Press Association described the rules as an unprecedented message of intimidation.
At the 15 October 2025 deadline, journalists from nearly every major US news organization — including the broadcast networks, the wire services, the national newspapers, and outlets across the political spectrum such as Fox News and Newsmax — declined to sign and turned in their badges. Roughly 15 individuals signed, drawn largely from smaller outlets, foreign media and freelancers. The department subsequently credentialed a different set of outlets.
In December 2025 the New York Times Company and reporter Julian E. Barnes sued the department. In March 2026 a federal judge granted the plaintiffs summary judgment, holding the policy unconstitutional; the government appealed.