Pentagon Moves To Eliminate Media Offices After Judge Restores New York Times’ Press Credentials

The Pentagon has moved to eliminate media offices following the restoration of "The New York Times’" press credentials by a federal judge.

The U.S. Department of Defense has moved to eliminate media offices at the Pentagon after a federal judge ruled in favor of the New York Times, restoring press credentials that President Donald Trump had revoked.

On March 23, department spokesperson Sean Parnell announced that the Pentagon’s “Correspondents’ Corridor,” a longtime workspace for reporters covering the U.S. military, would close immediately, the Associated Press reports. He said journalists will eventually be relocated to an annex outside the building, though no timeline was provided for when it will be ready.

The Pentagon Press Association responded to the announcement, calling it “a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week’s ruling.”

“At such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans,” the association said.

The move comes a week after U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of the Times, ordering the Pentagon to restore press credentials to seven of its journalists and striking down parts of the agency’s reporting restrictions.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2025 against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, argued the credentialing policy violated the Constitutin’s First Amendment and due process rights after the Trump administration limited legacy media access while elevating conservative outlets. Dozens of reporters had walked out rather than accept the restrictions.

In his ruling, Friedman said the “undisputed evidence” showed the policy aimed to sideline “disfavored journalists” in favor of those willing to align with the government, calling it clear viewpoint discrimination. Parnell responded in a lengthy post on X that the U.S. Department of Defense disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal, citing security concerns for limiting press access—an argument journalists have pushed back on.

Under new Pentagon rules, reporters can still attend briefings and scheduled interviews but must be escorted at all times. Meanwhile, the Associated Press is awaiting a ruling from a federal appeals panel in a separate lawsuit, arguing that the Trump administration reduced its access to presidential events when it refused to adopt his preferred renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.