NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists.
On X, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the move, saying there was 鈥渘othing controversial鈥� about it and that it came because speechwriters, who use classified material, were now occupying the space.
鈥淭he Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility,鈥� Valdez wrote.
鈥淭hese speechwriters routinely handle classified material 鈥� as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There鈥檚 nothing controversial about that.鈥�
The latest move, first reported by The Washington Post, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public arena and at times in the courts.
For many years, Pentagon reporters had credentials granting them wide movement in the building as they sought to interact with press officials there. But last October, most news outlets turned in access badges and of the Pentagon rather than agree to government-imposed ,
The New York Times , arguing that a requirement that journalists be escorted while on Pentagon grounds violates the First Amendment and is 鈥渁n unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs.鈥�
The paper said it had filed the additional lawsuit after first suing the Pentagon in December over new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to challenge an interim policy 鈥渢hat the Pentagon hastily put into place after a federal judge ruled in The Times鈥檚 favor in its original lawsuit.鈥� The new policy included the requirement that journalists be accompanied by escorts at all times while in the Pentagon.
The policy was implemented in March following a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman that had struck down earlier restrictions. The following month, the judge ruled that the interim policy violated his March order. when an appeals court stayed part of Friedman鈥檚 ruling while the government appeals. The appeals process is ongoing.
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