The Pentagon is outwardly going to conflict in opposition to press photographers who take “unflattering” images of Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth.
According to The Washington Post, the Protection Division blocked some press photographers from attending briefings concerning the ongoing conflict with Iran as a result of Hegseth’s staffers discovered them “unflattering.”
The ban was instituted after a briefing on March 2 that marked Hegseth’s first look within the briefing room since June 2025. Photographers from a number of retailers, together with Reuters, Getty and The Related Press, attended the briefing with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Workers chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
After images from the briefing had been printed, a few of Hegseth’s employees members had been reportedly miffed at how Hegseth regarded within the pics. It’s unclear whether or not Hegseth’s aides had been bugged by a single photograph or a number of, however some photographers had been shut out of subsequent briefings on March 4 and 10. Solely Protection Division employees photographers have been permitted into briefings since then.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson mentioned in an announcement to the Put up that the DoD was trying to “use area within the Pentagon Briefing Room successfully” by permitting “one consultant per information outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool.”
“Images from the briefings are instantly launched on-line for the general public and press to make use of,” Wilson added. “If that hurts the enterprise mannequin for sure information retailers, then they need to think about making use of for a Pentagon press credential.”
The Protection Division’s relationship with the media has grow to be notably extra contentious below Hegseth, according to The Associated Press. Many mainstream information organizations have left their desks on the Pentagon as a result of they refused to simply accept new guidelines enacted by the Trump administration that limit journalists’ actions and the folks they will speak to.
HuffPost reached out to the Protection Division, asking for readability on the photograph coverage and the standards used to find out whether or not a photograph makes Hegseth look unhealthy. No one instantly responded.
Artwork is subjective, however listed below are some Hegseth pics that may qualify for the “unflattering” designation:
Roberto Schmidt by way of Getty Pictures
Andrew Harnik/Pool by way of AP
Julia Demaree Nikhinson by way of AP
