Bedevilled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, defence secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late on Friday.

The rules limit access to several sections of the Pentagon, including office spaces belonging to Hegseth and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They also bar the press from accessing the Pentagon Athletic Center, writing in a Friday X post that the new rules are meant to “reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon’s auditorium on Wednesday morning, during working hours, in which President Trump was praised as a divinely appointed leader.