NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday doubled the number of news organizations it is evicting from their workspaces at the Pentagon in order to rotate in more friendly outlets.
CNN, The Washington Post, the Hill and War Zone will be asked to leave their spaces, with Newsmax, the Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller and the Free Press moving in, according to a memo from John Ullyot, acting assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The decision, which the Pentagon Press Association called “unreasonable,” continues a pattern of hostility toward journalists by the administration, which this week said it was looking to cancel media subscriptions paid for by agencies of the federal government.
“By turning over the office space loaned to you by the secretary, you will ensure that other outlets will enjoy the same opportunity to cover our nation's finest up close from office spaces inside the walls of the Pentagon this year and each year going forward,” Ullyot wrote.
It's common for news outlets to occupy space in places like the White House and state Capitols for quicker access to officials they need to do their jobs, and get stories out quickly. The Pentagon isn't preventing the ousted outlets from covering them, just making it more difficult for them to do their jobs.
CNN, in a statement, said that its “mission to report on the Department of Defense, U.S. military and Trump administration will continue regardless of office arrangements. We will not be deflected from our duty to hold all three fairly and fully to account.”
Similarly, The Washington Post said it would continue to cover the Pentagon independently and fairly, regardless of desk space.
The Pentagon announced its new rotation policy a week ago, saying that NBC News, the New York Times, NPR and Politico would be required to vacate. Their spaces are to be taken by One America News Network, the New York Post, Breitbart News and Huffpost.
The Times, Washington Post, CNN and Politico are each organizations that President Donald Trump has been critical of. Each of the outlets rotated in this week have been more supportive in their coverage.
None of the outlets offered prime real estate by the administration has requested more space from the Pentagon Press Association, which generally works to get room for reporters. Some are already in the Pentagon, the association said.
The association said in a statement Friday that it was “shocked and deeply disappointed” by the decision.
“Instead of reconsidering its approach after good faith outreach this week from more than 20 news organizations, the Defense Department appears to be doubling down on an unreasonable policy toward news outlets that have covered the U.S. military for decades,” the association said.
The association said it does not believe there are space constraints at the Pentagon, and its offer to find room for everyone “was discarded.”
Many news outlets with Pentagon workspaces have invested heavily in them, to get reliable Internet access or, in the case of television networks, wiring that enables them to instantly deliver live reports during urgent news stories.
Ullyot rejected press arguments, saying most outlets covering the Pentagon have no office space, and some television outlets have no trouble carrying in their equipment each day.
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
David Bauder, The Associated Press