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The Trump administration’s “asinine attempts to silence objective journalism just hit a new low,” said one press freedom advocate late Monday after the Pentagon announced that the US Department of Defense would mark its press office as a classified area, banning journalists from the space where they’ve previously talked openly with DOD officials.

Reporters on the military are currently largely banned from the building altogether as litigation is ongoing over the administration’s requirement that journalists have an escort to move about the Pentagon, but the new policy means that should they be able to return, they would be even more limited in their access to public affairs officers whose job it is to keep the press and public informed.

“For multiple administrations, Pentagon reporters have used the press office to meet with public affairs officers and have open conversations about what America’s armed services are doing in order to keep the public informed,” said Ben Grazda, an advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders North America.

Calling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “petulant” and pointing to his unsuccessful demand that journalists sign “loyalty pledges,” Grazda added that “journalists will continue their tenacious reporting and hold the Pentagon accountable for the money, operations, and lives they impact every day.”

The Washington Post reported that Pentagon speechwriters will be moved into the public affairs office, which will be equipped with the........

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