Joey McFadden
Sat, February 1, 2025
A source close to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has expressed glee at booting mainstream media from a Pentagon facility to make way for MAGA outlets.
“Hope those hit pieces on Pete were worth it,” the unnamed source told Axios after the decision to remove four major news outlets from the Pentagon’s Correspondents’ Corridor.
The New York Times, NBC News, NPR, and Politico have to vacate the Pentagon in two weeks. They will be replaced by Trump-friendly outlet the New York Post, full MAGA supporters One America News Network and Breitbart, as well as the left-leaning Huffington Post, which did not request a spot at the Pentagon.
While the source did not specify the “hit pieces,” former Fox News star Hegseth’s troubled past of heavy drinking, alleged sexual assault, admitted serial infidelity and alleged financial incompetence had been widely reported after his nomination by Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon.
This move comes amid a massive purge of Trump’s perceived enemies within the federal government. White House sources told Axios that the largest purge of government employees in history is “just the beginning.”
Head of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, shut senior government workers out of the Office of Personnel Management’s HR database and has now reportedly been granted full access to the federal payment system.
The Trump administration also froze $3 trillion in federal funds to root out “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies” from the federal government. A D.C. judge blocked the freeze.
Trump also offered all government employees a buyout with pay and benefits until Sept. 30, in an apparent effort to purge the government of progressives.
Pete Hegseth was captured shortly before midnight in December 2017, clearly drunk at a colleague’s wedding. He appeared on the air early the next morning. / Obtained by The Daily Beast
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove singled out several FBI senior executives who were told they would be fired if they did not retire by Monday.
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Bove also requested the names of all FBI officials who worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which likely includes thousands of people.
These decisions come amid a highly publicized plane crash in Washington, D.C., in which 67 people died, for which Trump blamed DEI policies. Within 24 hours of the crash, the Trump administration emailed FAA employees asking them to take the massive buyout.
President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Nick Daniels, told The New York Times he was “concerned” about the purges during an already existing “shortage” of air traffic controllers.
One air traffic controller was reportedly doing the job of two controllers on the night of the crash.
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called Trump’s comments “despicable” and said Trump should “show actual leadership” to prevent future accidents.
Defense Department To Boot NBC News, New York Times And Other Media From Workspaces As Part Of New Rotation; Trump-Friendly Outlets To Get Spots
Ted Johnson
Sat, February 1, 2025
DEADLINE
Major press organizations are expressing concern after the Defense Department announced changes that mean that NBC News, The New York Times, Politico and National Public Radio will no longer have dedicated workspaces at the Pentagon.
Instead, according to a memo sent to news organizations, there will be a media rotation program, with new outlets taking the spot of a legacy TV, print, radio and online news site. Those getting space include outlets with a long history of favorable coverage of Donald Trump — One America News Network and Breitbart News Network, as well as the New York Post, which leans right. The other outlet, HuffPost, leans left.
John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesperson, wrote in a letter to news outlets that the changes are part of an effort to “broaden access to the limited space” of the Correspondents’ Corridor to outlets “that have not previously enjoyed the privilege and journalistic value of working from physical office space” at the Defense Department. He said that the rotations would occur annually, and the outlets that vacate “the spaces loaned to them by the Secretary” will continue to have the same access to the Pentagon to cover briefings and to be considered for travel with civilian and military leaders.
The Pentagon Press Association said that it recognized the expansion of the press corps but they were “deeply troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media who have covered the Pentagon for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.”
Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, said, “The National Press Club is deeply concerned by the Defense Department’s decision to remove certain media organizations from their dedicated spaces in the Pentagon. Any action that restricts the ability of journalists to report on the operations of the U.S. government should alarm all who value transparency and press freedom.”
The changes were announced just a week after the Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host, as the new secretary of defense. The media outlets who have been told to vacate their workspaces all reported on his rocky confirmation process, with reports of his heavy drinking and an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in a 2017 incident. Hegseth has denied the allegations. He was confirmed in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie.
NBC News said in a statement, “We’re disappointed by the decision to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”
An NPR spokesperson said, “This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR’s public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states. NPR will continue to report with vigor and integrity on the transformation this Administration has promised to deliver. NPR urges the Pentagon to expand the offices available to press within the building so that all outlets covering the Pentagon receive equal access.”
The HuffPost did have a press pass for the Pentagon, but did not ask for a designated workspace. Lizzie Grams, a spokesperson for the outlet, said, “If the Trump Administration and Secretary Hegseth are interested in more hard-hitting coverage of their stewardship of the Defense Department from HuffPost, we are ready to deliver.”
An OAN spokesperson said in a statement, “OAN has operated a DC News Bureau continuously since 2013 with daily live reporting from multiple government locations. OAN continues to seek similar access extended to other national television news outlets operating daily in Washington, DC. OAN is dedicated to providing its viewers fair and accurate daily reports from the Pentagon.”
The New York Post said, “We devote substantial coverage to defense-related issues. As one of the biggest, most engaged and far-reaching media brands in the country, it only makes sense for us to have a reporter at the Pentagon.”
Josh Dickey
Sat, February 1, 2025
TheWrap.
The Pentagon will begin a new annual rotation program for media that requires several outlets, including NBC News, the New York Times and National Public Radio, to vacate their physical offices to allow for others – like Breitbart News, the New York Post and One America News Network – to get their turn.
The Friday announcement from the Department of Defense, now led by former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, will also remove Politico from its established in-house workspace.
The outgoing news orgs learned about the directive in a wide memo without individual notification or additional explanation, and takes effect in two weeks. The move comes a week after Hegseth was confirmed in the Senate by a narrow margin.
“For over a half-century, the Pentagon Press Corps has benefited from working out of individual office spaces that provide coveted and open access to some of the Department’s top military and civilian leaders,” reads the memo, from Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot.
NBC News said it was disappointed by the decision “to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”
The new outlets rotating in are One America News Network, the New York Post, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost as new organizations that will rotate in and out from the space.
“This move to expel The Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon’s press spaces is a concerning development,” the NYT wrote in a Saturday statement. “The Department of Defense has the largest discretionary budget in the government, millions of Americans in uniform under its direction and control of a vast arsenal funded by taxpayers. The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest.”
The Pentagon will begin a new annual rotation program for media that requires several outlets, including NBC News, the New York Times and National Public Radio, to vacate their physical offices to allow for others – like Breitbart News, the New York Post and One America News Network – to get their turn.
The Friday announcement from the Department of Defense, now led by former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, will also remove Politico from its established in-house workspace.
The outgoing news orgs learned about the directive in a wide memo without individual notification or additional explanation, and takes effect in two weeks. The move comes a week after Hegseth was confirmed in the Senate by a narrow margin.
“For over a half-century, the Pentagon Press Corps has benefited from working out of individual office spaces that provide coveted and open access to some of the Department’s top military and civilian leaders,” reads the memo, from Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot.
NBC News said it was disappointed by the decision “to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”
The new outlets rotating in are One America News Network, the New York Post, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost as new organizations that will rotate in and out from the space.
“This move to expel The Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon’s press spaces is a concerning development,” the NYT wrote in a Saturday statement. “The Department of Defense has the largest discretionary budget in the government, millions of Americans in uniform under its direction and control of a vast arsenal funded by taxpayers. The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest.”
The Pentagon is changing which media outlets have the closest access
John L. Dorman
Sat, February 1, 2025
BUSINESS INSIDER
The Pentagon will replace some large media outlets that have long had desks inside the Pentagon.
Outlets like NBC News and The New York Times will lose their space.
It's part of a "rotation program" that allows different media outlets to work from the Pentagon.
The Defense Department said it is implementing a new "annual media rotation program," which means some legacy media outlets — like The New York Times and NBC News — will lose their longtime Pentagon workspaces to a slate of new publications.
In a major shake-up for the Pentagon's "Correspondents' Corridor," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Ullyot announced in a memo to the Pentagon Press Association that The New York Times, NBC, National Public Radio, and Politico would all have to vacate their office space in the building.
The sought-after space will be offered instead to The New York Post, Breitbart News, One America News Network, and The Huffington Post.
The changes — which the memo said were intended to "broaden access to the limited space of the Correspondents' Corridor" — are set to take effect on February 14.
"Each year, one outlet from each press medium — print, online, television, and radio — that has enjoyed working from a physical office in the Pentagon will rotate out of the building to allow a new outlet from the same medium that has not had the unique opportunity to report as a resident member of the Pentagon Press Corps," the memo read.
Ullyot also said in the memo that access to the Pentagon would remain unchanged for the publications that have been removed from their traditional office spaces.
"They will continue to enjoy the same media access to the Pentagon and will be able to attend and cover briefings and be considered for travel with civilian and military leaders in the Department as they have previously," the memo read.
In a statement to Business Insider, NPR urged the Department of Defense to "expand the offices available to press" at the Pentagon.
"This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR's public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states," the statement read.
New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander told BI that the newspaper is "committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly."
"This move to expel the Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon's press spaces is a concerning development," Stadtlander said. "Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest."
NBC News said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the decision.
"Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has," the outlet said.
In January, the Senate narrowly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaker after three Republicans joined every Democrat in rejecting his nomination — a significant departure from the broad support that the GOP-controlled Senate has so far granted to most of President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees.
The outlets who will have to vacate their Pentagon workspaces all covered Hegseth's tumultuous confirmation process, during which he faced questions about alcohol abuse and sexual assault accusations stemming from a 2017 incident.
Hegseth, who was sworn into his new role on January 25, has denied the allegations.
The Defense Department's move also comes as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier this week that the Trump administration would be granting access to the White House press briefing room to "new media" — which includes TikTok content creators and podcasters.
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