Hegseth imposes new requirements on Pentagon interactions with Congress

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that Pentagon personnel be required to coordinate all interactions with Congress through the building's central legislative affairs office, significantly altering how military officials will speak with lawmakers.

Hegseth along with his deputy, Steve Feinberg, in an Oct. 15 memo ordered Defense Department officials to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they communicate with lawmakers or congressional aides, Breaking Defense first reported.

“Unauthorized engagements with Congress by [Defense Department] personnel acting in their official capacity, no matter how well-intentioned, may undermine Department-wide priorities critical to achieving our legislative objectives,” Hegseth and Feinberg wrote in the m