The directive “feels like propaganda being forced down our throats,” said an enlisted person serving on active duty.

NPR’s Tom Bowman, who has covered the Pentagon for 28 years, publicly surrendered his own credentials in protest of the “unprecedented” policy rather than abide by the restrictions. The Pentagon’s own spokespeople rarely brief the press anyway, Bowman noted in an op-ed:

Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” poked fun at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday by mockingly agreeing to his new press restrictions at the Pentagon. “After serious

Standards are back,” the defense secretary boasted after a few National Guard troops were removed from service for their physical appearance.

In 2019, Pete Hegseth used his pulpit on Fox News to rail against the “injustice” of a Navy Seal “warrior” being charged for stabbing a 17-year-old Islamic State prisoner in the neck.

Oliver Darcy, Author of the newsletter “Status,” and Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer for The Atlantic join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to Pete Hegseth’s absurd new rules for media organizations and reporters which essentially make it illegal for report anything that the Pentagon does not want reported on,

Hegseth’s announcement ignited a whirlwind of backlash among many factions, including Trump’s MAGA base supporters.

US military personnel have until the end of the month to either watch the speech or read the transcript of the defense secretary's comments.