Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth giving remarks at a 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.

Pete Hegseth apparently graduated from the passive-aggressive school of censorship.

Sure, the secretary of the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense, often directly lambastes the news media, but his real strategy for controlling the press seems to rest on controlling the Pentagon building itself.

First came the furniture shuffle. Eight established news organizations lost their desks in the Pentagon, which were then reassigned to others, including media outlets friendly to President Donald Trump.

Reporters who for decades have walked the Pentagon’s offices freely were told that some halls would be off-limits without an escort. Then came the crushing blow: banishment from the briefing room, which also cut off its Wi-Fi.

Once you cut off access to desks, halls and the briefing room, what’s next? How about the building itself?

In a direct assault on freedom of the press and Americans’ right to know, Hegseth has announced a new policy. In order to retain a press pass and access to the Pentagon, “Information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”

Hegseth, a former Fox News commentator, turns on the media

Say what? The government expects journalists to get its approval to write about the Pentagon and American military policy before sharing it with the public, even if the information isn't classified?

It’s tough to top this succinct assessment of Hegseth’s plan. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, called it “so dumb I have a hard time believing it is true.”

Hegseth’s press policy boils down to: “We’ll let you know what you need to know and when you need to know it,” turning the First Amendment upside down.

I’ve been surprised at the relatively restrained reactions among major U.S. news media outlets, with a number saying they’ll work with others to get the policy overturned. How very civilized.

How about saying: "Fine, keep your press passes, desks and Wi-Fi. We’ll be setting up a card table in a parking garage in nearby Arlington, Virginia. Pentagon secrets welcome.”

The Supreme Court has made clear that news organizations cannot be barred from publishing lawfully obtained information, even if the sources have no business giving it to them.

Hegseth says the 'people' run the Pentagon. Does he know what that means?

Pentagon insiders aren’t motivated to share information with the press just because reporters are down the hall. Government officials may have axes to grind or personal agendas, but some also want the truth out, and no Pentagon paperwork is going to change that.

In defending his policy, Hegseth wrote on X: “ The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon, the people do.”

I agree. And what do the people want?

Since our nation’s birth, Americans have insisted on a free press to keep an eye on people in power, particularly in the strong central government that would wield unprecedented authority.

They established that in 1787, when they refused to accept the new U.S. Constitution without a Bill of Rights, including a guarantee of a free press.

They affirmed that in 1791, with the ratification of the first 10 amendments, with press freedom perched on top, alongside guarantees of freedom of religion and speech.

Americans always want to know more, not less, about how their government is run.

Americans want to understand the military strategy that may one day require their sons and daughters to serve. Taxpayers concerned about growing deficits deserve to know what Hegseth means when he promises on X “the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget.”

Americans have a right to know whether our military might is being used effectively and whether our nation will be kept safe.

On Sept. 21, President Trump was asked by reporters whether the Pentagon should control what journalists report. “No, I don’t think so," he said. “Nothing stops reporters.”

America is counting on that.

Ken Paulson is the director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University and a former editor-in-chief of USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Let's call Hegseth's passive-aggressive press policy what it is. Censorship. | Opinion

Reporting by Ken Paulson / USA TODAY

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