In a significant shift in the allocation of office space at the Pentagon, the White House has decided to make room for right-wing media outlets by removing four long-established members of the Pentagon Press Corps.
According to a Defense Department memo obtained by CNN on Friday, four prominent outlets—The New York Times, NBC News, National Public Radio (NPR), and Politico—will be forced to vacate their office spaces in the Pentagon. This change, effective February 14, will make way for new tenants, including the New York Post, One America News Network (OANN), Breitbart News Network, and The Huffington Post.
The memo explains that each year, one outlet from each press medium—print, online, television, and radio—will rotate out of the Pentagon’s physical office space to give other media organizations the opportunity to utilize the area. However, the outlets that lose their office space will retain full membership in the Pentagon Press Corps, ensuring they still have the same access to the building and its resources as before.
While the change may seem like a standard rotating process, it comes on the heels of a broader push by the White House to open up press access to more diverse voices, particularly from the podcasting and influencer space. The administration has made it clear that it wants to extend opportunities for access to a wider range of media outlets, especially those with influential digital and social media presences.
For those in the traditional press corps, the move could signal a shift in how the administration wants to engage with the media, one that may be more in tune with the growing power of conservative-leaning media platforms. OANN, Breitbart, and the New York Post have long been vocal supporters of conservative causes, and their increased presence in the Pentagon could amplify right-wing voices within the halls of government.
Meanwhile, the outlets that are losing their space—many of which have been fixtures in Washington journalism for years—are unlikely to lose any of their influence, as their access to the Pentagon remains unchanged. However, for critics, this shift in office allocation raises questions about how the White House plans to balance access for more traditional, established news organizations with its desire to cultivate relationships with less conventional, ideologically driven media outlets.
