Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has largely banned military officials – including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force – from speaking with Congress unless they coordinate with a centralized office that reports to him.

Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, announced the move in an Oct. 15 internal memo obtained by USA TODAY. (Breaking Defense first reported the memorandum.)

"Unauthorized engagements with Congress ... may undermine Department-wide priorities," said the pair in the memo. Their goal is to control the Pentagon's messaging to Congress "to ensure consistency and support for the Department's priorities."

The office that oversees communication with Congress is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. The memorandum referenced this office using Hegseth's preferred War Department titles. The Senate-confirmed position is currently filled on an interim basis.

The crackdown could impact the military's transparency to the legislative branch.

According to the memo, "all interactions with Congress or state elected officials" require central office approval. This includes visits by lawmakers to U.S. military bases around the world.

The office will also control the Pentagon's responses to mandatory reports and the letters that lawmakers routinely send to inquire about investigations, policy matters and constituent casework.

Some Pentagon officials with legally mandated relationships with Congress are exempt from the ban, such as the department's inspector general, general counsel and comptroller. Troops may still request assistance from their lawmakers and enjoy whistleblower protections as well.

The move likely seeks to rein in parochial infighting between military branches, which compete for congressional funding every year despite Hegseth and the White House officially controlling the process.

This spring, Hegseth's Pentagon moved to defund the Navy's future stealth fighter jet amid worries that the country's defense industry lacked the capacity to build the plane alongside higher priority projects.

But the Navy successfully lobbied Congress to save the program, according to Reuters, forcing Hegseth to reportedly approve the Navy's new plane this month.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth clamps down on military communications with Congress

Reporting by Davis Winkie, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect