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Pete Hegseth has taken an extraordinary new step in his effort to clamp down on leaks from the Pentagon.
The Secretary of Defense is tightening his grip on staff by barring all military personnel from speaking to Congress without express approval.
He outlined the new changes in a staff memo on October 15, according to NBC News.
The memo states the 'Department of War relies on a collaborative and close partnership with Congress to achieve our legislative goals.
'This requires coordination and alignment of Department messaging when engaging with Congress to ensure consistency and support for the Department's priorities to re-establish deterrence, rebuild our military, and revive the warrior ethos.'
The administration has rebranded the Department of Defense to the Department of War as part of this 'warrior ethos.'
The memo instructs all Pentagon personnel aside from the inspector general's office to get express approval before any communication with law makers, staff on Capitol Hill and elected officials.
This new guidance must be acted upon 'effective immediately', and staff must 'coordinate all legislative affairs activities' through official Pentagon channels.
It is the latest in Hegseth's efforts to tighten his grip on what information comes out of the Pentagon after last week demanding journalists sign a new compliance policy that trampled all over the First Amendment.
The policy bans military personnel from making 'unauthorized disclosures' to the media, and all journalists and publications who refused to sign were given a deadline to pack their desks and hand in their press passes.
Dozens of journalists from publications across the political spectrum opted to turn in their badges and left the building last week.
Hegseth addressed the criticism surrounding the new policy, writing on X: 'Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right.'
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the rules establish 'common sense media procedures.'
The policy conveys 'an unprecedented message of intimidation' for anyone in the Department of War who might want to speak to a reporter without the approval of Hegseth's team, the Pentagon Press Association said.
The Orwellian new rules came after the Daily Mail revealed Hegseth has been 'crawling out of his skin' with paranoia, firing staffers for speaking to journalists and erupting in explosive tirades over concerns for his personal security.
Parnell has also defended Hegseth's latest ruling around discussions with Congress, describing it as a 'pragmatic step' amid an internal review of the Department's processes.
'The Department intends to improve accuracy and responsiveness in communicating with the Congress to facilitate increased transparency,' Parnell said.
'This review is for processes internal to the Department and does not change how or from whom Congress receives information.'
Critics have noted Hegseth's crackdown on reporters comes after his own major blunder and security breach in March, when he released war plans in a Signal chat without realizing the editor of The Atlantic had been unintentionally added to the group.
Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in the chat, but argued no classified information was shared.