Updated on: March 23, 2026 / 10:44 PM EDT / CBS/AP
The Defense Department said Monday it will remove media outlets’ office spaces from the Pentagon after a federal judge sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit challenging limits on reporters’ access to the building.
An area of the Pentagon known as “Correspondents’ Corridor,” which reporters have used for decades to cover the U.S. military, will close immediately, department spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Journalists will eventually be able to work from an annex outside the building, which he said “will be available when ready.” He offered no timeline.
The New York Times responded that the move violated the judge’s order and was unconstitutional. Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement, “We will be going back to court.” The Pentagon Press Association called the policy a “clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week’s ruling,” asking why the Pentagon would restrict press freedoms amid ongoing national security events, including the war with Iran and a recent U.S. operation in Venezuela.
The dispute is the latest over press access during President Trump’s administration, which has curtailed some legacy media while elevating conservative outlets. Dozens of reporters — including from CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, CNN and Fox News — gave up their Pentagon credentials last fall after the military required journalists to agree to new restrictions to maintain daily access. The policy suggested reporters who “solicit” classified or sensitive information from military personnel could be deemed 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’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., last week sided with the paper. He ordered the Pentagon to reinstate press credentials for seven Times journalists and struck down some agency restrictions on reporting, including the policy on soliciting information.
Friedman wrote that “undisputed evidence” showed the policy was designed to exclude “disfavored journalists” and replace them with those willing to “serve” the government, calling that illegal viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. He also found portions of the policy unconstitutionally vague, leaving reporters unclear on what conduct would violate the rules.
Parnell said the Defense Department disagrees with the ruling and is appealing. He said security concerns prompted restrictions on press access, a claim journalists have disputed.
Under the Pentagon’s latest rules announced Monday, journalists will still be allowed into the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews arranged through the department’s public affairs office, but they will be escorted. The portions of last year’s policy that limited which parts of the building reporters could access were not struck down by Friedman.
The current Pentagon press corps is composed largely of conservative outlets that accepted last year’s policy. Reporters from organizations that refused to consent to the new rules have continued covering the military from outside the building.