In his latest crusade to un-woke the military and crack down on so-called “fat generals,” the Department of War Secretary and walking example of protein powder–induced lead poisoning, Pete Hegseth, has now gotten rid of journalists. Last week, the Pentagon issued a revised set of press guidelines that impose restrictions and potential penalties on journalists engaging in basic news gathering. As a personal fan of the First Amendment, I have to say, it’s not looking good.
This week, at least 30 major news organizations, including the New York Times, CNN, the Guardian, Politico, and yes, even Pete’s old frat house, Fox News, refused to agree to the new rules. In fact, only 15 signed the new agreement—not 15 outlets, 15 journalists. The few who agreed to the new terms included foreign outlets, freelancers, and, of course, a sprinkle of right-wing publications like The Federalist, Epoch Times, and One America News.
“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” the five major broadcast networks, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, and Fox News Media, wrote in a joint statement on Wednesday. “The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”
Before Pete, the press policy was a simple one-page document. Now, it’s 21 pages of tight restrictions that redefine standard reporting as “solicitation” of information. You know—soliciting information, otherwise known as asking questions. It essentially says, “We’ll let you know when there’s something you’re allowed to know.”
So what will this new press pool be allowed to report on? It’s unclear. But if the last nine months of the Trump administration are any indication, it’ll be a daily report of how many push-ups Hegseth completed that afternoon.
It’s a tale as old as time: conservative pundit screams about free speech, then does everything possible to restrict it once they get into a position of power. Not that what Pete did at Fox News really counted as “journalism”—it was more like being a public menace with the occasional dabble in attempts at first-degree manslaughter, but the irony is still there.
It certainly doesn’t help that this announcement is coming one month after Trump rebranded the Department of Defense as the Department of War. Now the press isn’t allowed to ask questions about the military? So, like… are we going to war or not?
Whatever the Pentagon’s plan is, the message is clear: the American people can’t ask questions, and the press can’t report freely. But I get it! If I were Pete, I also wouldn’t want the press reporting on how bad I was at my job. And I definitely wouldn’t want them catching me leaking war strategies in another group chat, going on a rant about women in combat, or worse, struggling on the pull-up bar I had installed in my office doorway.
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