Hegseth announces the commander overseeing operations in Latin America -- which has included lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean -- is stepping down.

The directive “feels like propaganda being forced down our throats,” said an enlisted person serving on active duty.

NPR’s Tom Bowman, who has covered the Pentagon for 28 years, publicly surrendered his own credentials in protest of the “unprecedented” policy rather than abide by the restrictions. The Pentagon’s own spokespeople rarely brief the press anyway, Bowman noted in an op-ed:

"The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections," Fox News said in a statement with other major media outlets.

Standards are back,” the defense secretary boasted after a few National Guard troops were removed from service for their physical appearance.

US military personnel have until the end of the month to either watch the speech or read the transcript of the defense secretary's comments.

In 2019, Pete Hegseth used his pulpit on Fox News to rail against the “injustice” of a Navy Seal “warrior” being charged for stabbing a 17-year-old Islamic State prisoner in the neck.

Pete Hegseth's Defense Department has threatened to revoke press credentials of news organization that do not agree to restrictive new coverage rules -- and bar them from physical access to the Pentagon's grounds.

Oliver Darcy, Author of the newsletter “Status,” and Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer for The Atlantic join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to Pete Hegseth’s absurd new rules for media organizations and reporters which essentially make it illegal for report anything that the Pentagon does not want reported on,

The Trump administration expects Europe, not the US, to lead the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, marking an apparent shift in Washington’s stance toward the 76-year transatlantic alliance.