Hegseth’s security threatens journalists with removal from news conference

Before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first briefing in six months, a security agent warned reporters they could be physically removed if they failed to maintain decorum. Reporters sought clarification; a political staffer offered to explain only off the record and left after journalists objected.

Hegseth answered a few questions and no journalist was ultimately removed. The incident raises a concrete press-access question without claiming a formal exclusion or a new written rule.