Appeals Court Restores Pentagon Journalist Escort Rule

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, July 16, 2026, that the Pentagon can temporarily require all journalists to be escorted by government personnel while on its grounds, overturning a lower court's injunction against the policy. The decision is a preliminary victory for the Defense Department in an ongoing legal battle with The New York Times, which argues the rule violates the First Amendment.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit split 2-1, granting the government's request to stay a district judge's order that had blocked the escort requirement in June. The majority, in an unsigned order, found the Pentagon is likely to succeed on its argument that the escort rule is "generally applicable and applied across the board to all reporters" and lacks a "distinctively adverse impact" specifically on the Times. The court set an expedited schedule for further briefing and oral arguments on the merits of the case.

The legal dispute stems from a series of media access restrictions implemented by the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, beginning in October 2025. Those initial rules allowed the department to revoke press...