Some Democrats are accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of curtailing Congress’ oversight role with his recent order instructing the Defense Department personnel to coordinate all interactions with Capitol Hill through the building’s central legislative affairs office.

Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, said in an Oct. 15 memo that DOD officials have to get permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before communicating with lawmakers or congressional aides, a policy that lawmakers fear will curb the flow of information from the Pentagon to Capitol Hill.

“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 said in the 3-page memo.

The directive applies to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, senior department leaders, services secretaries, combatant command heads, directors of DOD agencies, legislative analysts, congressional affairs officials, and others within the department. The memo excludes DOD’s inspectors generals office.

Some Senate Democrats hammered Hegseth over the latest memo, arguing it would impede on their duty of performing oversight — and might be illegal.

“It is........

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