Matthew Chapman
June 30, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reacts to a question as he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force General Dan Caine participate in a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on President Donald Trump's FY2027 budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suffered yet another loss in his legal fight to control the Pentagon press corps.
In a brief order issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman issued a preliminary injunction in favor of The New York Times, barring Hegseth from enforcing a policy that effectively requires members of the press to be led around by an escort in the Pentagon unless they agree to an onerous set of restrictions on their activities that include not publishing any leaks they might receive.
Hegseth has lost several cases over this issue.
In April, Friedman slammed Hegseth for trying to circumvent prior rulings and sneak the same illegal press rules that had already been blocked back into effect.
The Pentagon press rules had already forced almost every legacy press outlet, including right-leaning ones, to pull out, allowing in a mix of far-right bloggers and social media influencers who only have positive messages to say about the administration.
All of this comes as Hegseth is separately under fire for denying military promotions in a suspicious pattern against well-qualified female and minority officers — though some experts have suggested the real motive is even darker than racial or gender bias.
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