Press photographers have now been banned from the Pentagon after "unflattering" photos were taken of the Secretary of Defense.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Secretary Pete Hegseth recoiled after photos from last week's press briefing made him look bad, two sources said.
Hegseth has given a few briefings since President Donald Trump's war in Iran began. Photographers from the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images took photos as they do at all official events. After the photos were published, however, members of Hegseth's staff said that they didn't like the way he looked in them. So, they banned the press photographers entirely for two briefings.
“In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool. Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use. If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential," said Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson.
"It is unclear whether one particular photo — or the sum total of the day’s shots — led to consternation among Hegseth’s staff. When photographers showed up for last Wednesday’s briefing they were not allowed in, according to two other people familiar with the situation who also spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation," the Post said.
Only official DOD photos of Hegseth are being released now.
The new Pentagon has clashed with the press over the first year after Hegseth was caught in numerous scandals. He has since shut down the Pentagon press office, a very small space where reporters could use a table to type up quick reports. He also launched a leak investigation after many of his flubs were exposed to the press, including an embarrassing set of Signal messages in which he revealed classified information to unauthorized recipients.