The Trump administration has ordered four left-leaning news organizations including the New York Times and NBC News to vacate their dedicated office space at the Pentagon, making room for new media outlets such as The Post and the right-leaning Breitbart News and One America News.
The decision was announced late Friday in a Department of Defense memo issued by spokesman John Ullyot, who wrote that the Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico must relinquish their Pentagon office space by Feb. 14.
According to Ullyot, the move is part of a new annual media rotation program designed 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.”
As part of this reshuffle, The Post will replace the Times as a print outlet, OAN will take NBC News’s spot as a cable network, Breitbart News will assume NPR’s role as a radio outlet and HuffPost, owned by BuzzFeed, will take Politico’s space.
HuffPost does not employ a correspondent that covers the Pentagon, according to the news site.
The memo emphasized that the affected news organizations will still have access to Pentagon briefings and remain members of the Pentagon press corps, though they will lose their physical workspace.
“Known as the Correspondents’ Corridor, this office space loaned to media outlets by the secretary of defense stands as a tribute to the importance the department has long placed on informing the public about the US military,” the memo stated.
The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed a desire to provide greater access to nontraditional media, including outlets that have been favorable in their coverage of the president.
The Pentagon Press Association board, an organization which represents journalists covering military affairs, blasted the decision.
“We are greatly 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,” the board said in a statement.
“We have asked for a meeting and will keep everyone informed.”
The announcement came just one week after Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, was narrowly confirmed. Critics argue that the decision is aimed at favoring conservative media.
Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for the Times, condemned the move, calling it a “concerning development.”
“The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest,” he said.
NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara echoed those concerns, warning that the decision “interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership.”
She urged the Pentagon to expand media office space to ensure equal access for all news organizations.
Other affected outlets voiced similar concerns.
Politico’s senior managing editor Anita Kumar called the decision “troubling,” while an NBC News spokesman expressed disappointment over losing a broadcasting booth that had been in use for decades.
Meanwhile, the incoming outlets welcomed the decision.
A Post spokeswoman defended the move, stating that as a “far-reaching media brand,” the Post deserved a Pentagon presence.
OAN spokesman Charles Herring noted that the network “continues to seek similar access extended to other national television news outlets.”
The reshuffling of Pentagon media access marks another chapter in the Trump administration’s strained relationship with the press.
With accusations of press favoritism and concerns over media transparency mounting, the decision is likely to fuel further debate over the role of independent journalism in government reporting.
