Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth’s War on Media Undermines Military Credibility

In the final years of Barack Obama’s presidency, speechwriters for the secretary of defense—including the author—occupied a spacious Pentagon office once used by Donald Rumsfeld’s team. The space featured comfortable seating, large televisions, and ample room for generals and their staff. When midlevel bureaucrats arrived unannounced to measure the space, it became clear the office would be reclaimed. The Pentagon press corps needed the room closer to the "bullpen," where uniformed press officers fielded questions. The message was unambiguous: the most critical writers in the Pentagon were not the secretary’s speechwriters, but the press.

Pete Hegseth, the current secretary of defense, has adopted a starkly different approach. Days after his confirmation, he evicted seasoned media outlets from the Pentagon, including The New York Times, NPR, Politico, and NBC News. Their office spaces were reassigned to outlets that had previously supported President Donald Trump. In October 2023, Hegseth’s press office required reporters to sign a pledge agreeing to report only information pre-approved by the Pentagon. Those who refused faced the loss of their press credentials and access to the building. Most reporters chose to surrender their credentials rather than comply.

Hegseth has rarely appeared in the Pentagon’s briefing room to take questions, though his appearances have increased slightly in recent weeks. His briefings have redefined the phrase "bully pulpit." During a recent session, he oscillated between quoting scripture and attacking the press. He labeled journalists "unpatriotic," dismissed their reporting as "an endless stream of garbage" that they "cannot resist peddling," and compared them to the Pharisees—the biblical scribes who, according to the New Testament, facilitated Jesus’ arrest by Roman authorities.

Hegseth’s combative stance toward the press threatens lasting harm to the institution he leads. A Pentagon that suppresses unfavorable information and a secretary who routinely insults journalists risk losing public trust and a vital mechanism for accountability. His approach does not merely endanger transparency; it undermines the effectiveness and legitimacy of U.S. service members tasked with executing their missions.

Hegseth’s Evolving Relationship with the Press

Hegseth has not always viewed the press as an adversary. His perspective was shaped during his service as a civil affairs officer in Iraq. In an email home during the Iraq War, he praised a Wall Street Journal reporter embedded with his platoon in Samarra. "For the most part it was a fair article," he wrote, while expressing concerns that the reporter may have revealed too much about an Iraqi official collaborating with his unit. In the same note, Hegseth commended the efforts of Iraqis in establishing a city council and a newspaper. He even noted a placard above his workspace that read, "Truth is the first casualty of war."