Pentagon’s communication policy could ‘divide’ US Congress from the military, writes The Washington Times

The Pentagon’s restrictions on communications with Congress could make it harder for lawmakers to obtain the information they need on military matters, Republican legislators, retired military officers, and former Department of Defense officials told The Washington Times.

The newspaper spoke with 13 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and several members of the House Armed Services Committee about a recently released Pentagon memo. The memo outlines a policy change under which most communications between the Pentagon and Congress will now go through the legislative affairs office of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Sources say the new rules will hinder the resolution of key issues, such as authorizing U.S. military operations abroad, oversight of complex Defense Department programs, and obtaining timely answers during the drafting of the armed forces’ nearly $1 trillion budget. Critics view this as a systematic attempt to cut off the flow of information from the Pentagon.

The memo reviewed by The Washington Times explicitly states that even secretaries of military departments, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and commanders of combatant commands will be limited in their interactions with members of Congress and state-elected officials — unless approved by the Pentagon’s legislative affairs office.