GOP lawmaker Bacon criticizes ‘dumb’ new Hegseth Pentagon press rules

GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) is offering stark criticism of newly issued Pentagon press rules under Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth, calling them “so dumb I have a hard time believing it is true.”

Under the new rules, reporters can be punished for reporting on non-classified information that hasn’t been authorized for release by the Pentagon.

“We don’t want a bunch of Pravda newspapers only touting the Government’s official position,” Bacon wrote on X in response to the new rules. “A free press makes our country better. This sounds like more amateur hour.”

A memo from the Defense Department, now known as the Department of War under President Trump, on Friday said information “must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”

“Failure to abide by these rules may result in suspension or revocation of your building pass and loss of access,” the department continued in the 17-page document circulated to news organizations.

The Pentagon argued that unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a security risk that could hinder national security and place DOD personnel in “jeopardy.” 

Bacon, who plans to retire at the end of this Congress, was not the only voice criticizing the new rules. Conservative influencer James O’Keefe, generally a critic of the mainstream media, also said the new policy was nothing to celebrate.

“We should NOT be cheerleading this. The Supreme Court permits journalists to lawfully acquire info about a matter of public concern, (even [if] a source obtained it unlawfully),” O’Keefe said in a post on X. 

“Aside from publishing info that creates grave and imminent danger, Govt should not be asking us to obey.”