Hegseth restricts military officials from talking to Congress without prior approval

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is mandating that personnel can no longer engage lawmakers or their staff about most major issues confronting the U.S. military without prior approval -- a list that includes recent military strikes in the Caribbean, how the Pentagon buys weapons, and the construction of a U.S. missile shield. It’s a major shift on how the military interacts with Congress. Congressional staff say they are concerned that Hegseth’s clampdown will hamstring lawmakers’ ability to get even routine information as it oversees the Pentagon’s $1 trillion budget and cobbles together an annual defense policy bill . Under Hegseth’s new mandate, staff from the various military services and agencies were told they must coordinate first with Hegseth’s central legislative office. Staffers sa