A federal judge has ruled that the Defense Department is violating his earlier order to restore access to the Pentagon for reporters. U.S.

A federal judge has admonished the Pentagon for defying his previous court order in a humiliating ruling for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Hegseth, 45, announced strict new rules last October that allowed the Pentagon to revoke journalists’ press passes.

The Pentagon is obstructing reporters and defying an earlier court order that required it to restore access to credentialed journalists covering the Department of Defense (DOD), a U.S. judge in Washington ruled Thursday — a blow to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to limit media access.

But a spokesperson for the Department of Defense told Newsweek it "was a respectful and reasonable discussion."

Survivors of an Iranian attack that killed six U.S. service members have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed.

The Pentagon has denied threatening the Vatican during a late January meeting with the Holy See’s then-envoy to the U.S., as Pope Leo XIV has warned against the growing use of military action in recent months.

Pete Hegseth has reportedly concocted a brazen scheme to force the removal of a top Pentagon official who makes him feel insecure. Long-running tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll took center stage last week after Hegseth abruptly fired Driscoll’s chief of staff,