As Deadline Nears, News Outlets Have No Plans to Sign 'Flatly Unconstitutional' Pentagon Press Policy

News outlets that cover the US Department of Defense have until 5:00 pm Tuesday to sign an agreement put forward by the Pentagon last month that bars journalists from reporting any information that hasn't been explicitly authorized by the Trump administration—but several major organizations were resolute in stating they would not be agreeing to the terms.

Outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, NPR, and the trade publication Breaking Defense were among those that released statements on Monday saying they would not be signing the agreement released last month, which says journalists could be deemed a "safety or security risk" if they ask Pentagon personnel for sensitive information for reporting purposes.

Since the Department of Defense does not hold regular news briefings, many journalists who report on national security issues use their publications or social media accounts to call for tips from DOD personnel—a practice that would be treated as suspicious under the new policy and could limit outlets' access.

The Pentagon has said outlets and reporters who don't sign the document released last month will have 24 hours to turn in their press credentials—but many organizations suggested Monday they will continue reporting on the US military without credentials rather than signing.

Richard Stevenson, Washington Bureau chief for the Times, said in a statement posted on X that the new policy "threatens to punish [reporters] for ordinary news gathering protected by the First Amendment," and noted that the Pentagon's budget amounts to nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer money annually.

"The public has a right to know how the government and military are operating," said Stevenson.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has claimed the DOD is now called the Department of War, responded to the Times' statement and those of a number of other outlets with only a "hand waving" emoji.

It was the response Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray got when he said the newspaper "will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government."

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic—who was inadvertently added to a Pentagon Signal chat earlier this year and was sent messages regarding US plans to bomb Yemen—also said the new policy violates journalists' "First Amendment rights, and the rights of Americans who seek to know how taxpayer-funded resources and personnel are being deployed," while HuffPost editor-in-chief Whitney Snyder said the new restrictions are "flatly unconstitutional" and are "clearly aimed at snuffing out actual news-gathering at the nation’s largest and best-funded federal department.”

Right-wing outlets including The Washington Times and Newsmax, which called the new requirements "unnecessary and onerous," have also said they won't sign the new policy.

“Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,” the network told the Times Monday. “We are working in conjunction with other media outlets to resolve the situation."

The new policy was unveiled months after Hegseth's office removed four news outlets from their long-held workspaces in the Pentagon, replacing them with right-wing One America News Network—which has agreed to the restrictions—and Breitbart News.

The DOD has also limited journalists' access to the building, barring them from most hallways without an official escort—a departure from decades of established rules that allowed reporters to travel through most of the Pentagon, except secure areas, without restrictions.

In addition to stifling the free speech of journalists, said the Pentagon Press Association (PPA) last week, the new policy also "conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DOD," even those who share "entirely unclassified" information with reporters.

The restrictions warn "against any unapproved interactions with the press and even [suggest] it's criminal to speak without express permission—which plainly, it is not."

The PPA emphasized Monday that after pledging to oversee "the most transparent Department of Defense in history," the Trump administration has spent "an inordinate amount of time... systematically limiting access to information about the US military."

"Our members did nothing to create this disturbing situation," said the PPA. "Reporting by the Pentagon press corps involves issues that matter not just to the public, but also to the well-being of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardians who protect America on a daily basis. Their potential expulsion from the Pentagon should be a concern to all."