Updated March 23, 2026 — The Defense Department announced Monday it will remove media office space inside the Pentagon after a federal judge sided with The New York Times in a challenge to the building’s credentialing rules.
The area long known as the ‘Correspondents’ Corridor,’ where journalists have worked for decades to cover the military, will close immediately, department spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Reporters will be offered workspace in an annex outside the main building ‘when ready,’ he added, without providing a timeline.
The New York Times said the relocation violates the judge’s order and is unconstitutional; Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said the paper plans to return to court. The Pentagon Press Association called the move a clear breach of last week’s ruling and questioned why press freedoms would be tightened amid major national security events, including the war with Iran and a recent U.S. operation in Venezuela.
The dispute is the latest flashpoint over press access under President Trump’s administration, which has tightened rules for some legacy outlets while expanding privileges for conservative organizations. Dozens of reporters from CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News and others surrendered Pentagon credentials last fall after the military required journalists to accept new restrictions to keep daily access. That policy warned that reporters who ‘solicit’ classified or sensitive information from military personnel could be labeled a security risk and barred from the building.
The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, arguing the credentialing policy violated journalists’ First Amendment rights and due process protections. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman last week sided with the paper, ordering the Pentagon to reinstate credentials for seven Times journalists and striking down portions of the policy, including the ‘solicit’ provision.
Judge Friedman said undisputed evidence indicated the policy was designed to exclude ‘disfavored journalists’ and replace them with reporters willing to ‘serve’ the government, calling that unlawful viewpoint discrimination. He also found parts of the policy unconstitutionally vague, leaving reporters unsure what conduct might trigger penalties.
Parnell said the Defense Department disagrees with the ruling and will appeal, reiterating that security concerns motivated the changes — a rationale disputed by many journalists.
Under the Pentagon’s latest guidance, reporters will still be allowed into the building for press briefings and interviews arranged through the department’s public affairs office, but they will be escorted. The aspects of last year’s policy that limited which portions of the building reporters could enter were not overturned.
The current in-building press corps largely consists of outlets that accepted last year’s rules. Journalists from organizations that refused to consent have continued covering the Pentagon from outside the complex.