Facing a deadline next week on whether to sign a statement acknowledging new restrictions on how they do their jobs or risk being thrown out of the Pentagon, journalists who cover the U.S. military appear headed toward a showdown with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Negotiations over changing some of the restrictions “have not been as successful as we had hoped,” the Pentagon Press Association said Wednesday.

The rules limit where reporters can go without an official escort and convey “an unprecedented message of intimidation” for anyone in the Defense Department who might want to speak to a reporter without the approval of Hegseth's team, the association said in a statement.

When the new policy was issued two weeks ago, news organizations were concerned that signing the rules conveye

See Full Page