The New York Times has launched a major legal challenge against the Department of Defense, suing over a new Pentagon policy that sharply curtails journalists’ access to the building and its officials.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning in federal court in Washington, D.C., names the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell as defendants.
At the center of the case is an access policy rolled out in October that was so restrictive many long-time Pentagon beat reporters chose to hand in their credentials rather than agree to the new terms.
“The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press’ right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said.
“The Times intends to vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability,” he added.
The Times is asking the court to declare the policy unconstitutional on its face and to block the Pentagon from enforcing it.
Parnell, in a statement to CNN, said, “We are aware of the New York Times lawsuit and look forward to addressing these arguments in court.”
Hegseth and his team are expected to defend the policy using the same national security rationale they cited when the restrictions were introduced in October.
Critics in the media industry say the move is less about security and more about sidelining independent reporters while elevating pro-Trump content creators willing to accept the Pentagon’s terms.
Earlier this week, Hegseth hosted dozens of MAGA-aligned media influencers and commentators at the Pentagon for orientation sessions and briefings.
These content creators — who agreed to the restrictions that The Times is now fighting — have been promoted by Hegseth’s communications staff as the “new Pentagon press corps,” even though many have little or no background in covering the military.
Meanwhile, the veteran defense reporters who turned in their credentials continue to cover the Pentagon remotely, without the access they once had inside the building.
Parnell has dismissed those journalists, saying they “chose to self-deport” and adding that “they will not be missed.”
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, who did not hold a single on-camera press briefing while traditional beat reporters were still on site, held one enthusiastically on Tuesday for the new roster of influencers.
Reporters from outlets including The New York Times and CNN sought to attend but were barred from the briefing.
Press freedom advocates quickly rallied behind The Times’ lawsuit. Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the “only way to put an end to the Trump administration’s multipronged assault on press freedom is for every news outlet to fight back at every opportunity.”
But media lawyers acknowledge the case carries risk: a ruling that favors the Pentagon could embolden future administrations to tighten access even further.
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents most of the beat reporters who rejected the new rules, said it was “encouraged” that The Times had chosen to “step up and defend press freedom.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association also voiced strong support, saying it stands with The Times in challenging “the Pentagon’s unprecedented restrictions on press access.”
“The Times’ lawsuit is a necessary and vital step to ensure journalists can do their jobs,” the WHCA said.
The Times noted that dozens of outlets — including conservative organizations such as Fox News and Newsmax — joined in rejecting the new restrictions back in October.
For now, The Times is the only newsroom bringing a lawsuit, but attorneys involved in the matter said other organizations are expected to file supporting briefs.
In its response to the suit, CNN said, “The Pentagon has asked news organizations to surrender their journalistic principles and First Amendment rights in exchange for access. CNN will not do this.”
“As we have said, the newly implemented policy is without precedent and threatens core protections for independent journalism,” the statement continued. “We will continue to cover the U.S. military accurately and fairly and we stand with The New York Times and all of the other major news organizations, from CBS to the Wall Street Journal to Fox News, who have refused to sign up to this reckless new policy. We will follow the progress of The Times’s legal complaint closely.”
