EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon clamps down on military interactions with Congress

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PENTAGON, CONGRESS
EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon clamps down on military interactions with Congress

A Pentagon memo, obtained by Breaking Defense, now mandates that all communication with Congress be routed through its main legislative affairs office.

By Valerie Insinna and Theresa Hitchens on October 21, 2025 12:52 pm


Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defense budget request for fiscal year 2026 and the Future Years Defense Program at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

WASHINGTON — Defense Department personnel will now have to coordinate all interactions with Congress through the Pentagon’s central legislative affairs office, according to a memo obtained by Breaking Defense — a change in policy that could further curb the flow of information streaming from the department to Capitol Hill.

In the Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg direct Defense Department personnel — with the exception of the Pentagon’s inspector general office — to coordinate with the office of the assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs for all engagements and communication with Congress and state elected officials.

“The Department of War (DoW) 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,” Hegseth and Feinberg wrote in the memo, which uses a secondary name for the Defense

“Unauthorized engagements with Congress by DoW 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 wrote later in the memo.

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