The media will also be barred from offices of the Pentagon’s senior military leadership, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, without Hegseth’s approval and an escort from his aides. The staff of the Joint Chiefs has traditionally maintained a good relationship with the press.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed critics of a Christian prayer service held Wednesday at the Pentagon in Thursday comments to reporters. Hegseth defended his decision to lead a 30-minute prayer service at the Pentagon with his home pastor Brooks Potteiger,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans.