President Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on social media: “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right, So, here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES: Press no longer roams free. Press must wear visible badge. Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts DONE. Pentagon now has same rules as every U.S military installation.”
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, who previously served as the Commanding General of United States Army Europe and the Seventh Army, replied: “For the record, there are 17 pages worth of requirements, and the only people that buy this 3-checked shortened version are truly dummies. The more you know…”
For the record, there are 17 pages worth of requirements, and the only people that buy this 3-checked shortened version are truly dummies.
The more you know… https://t.co/e35oFKJOLH— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) October 14, 2025
Hertling added: “This new Pentagon press policy is not good for the Pentagon or the Press. I was a soldier, not a journalist, and I find this counter to our ascribed values and our Constitution.”
Note: In September the Pentagon released a memo to reporters warning that they may lose their press credentials for “unauthorized access, attempted unauthorized access, or unauthorized disclosure” of classified information or anything designated as “controlled unclassified information.”
It also said information from the Department of Defense “must be approved before public release … even if it is unclassified.” So reporters who use unnamed U.S. military sources in their reporting risk losing access to the Pentagon.
The influential ‘Republicans against Trump’ X account also replied to Hegseth’s announcement with sarcasm: “The most transparent administration in history” with a clown emoji.