defense department pentagon hegseth congress.

Leaders at the Pentagon have significantly altered how military officials will speak with Congress after a pair of new memos issued last week. In an Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagon officials — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they have any communication with Capitol Hill. Previously, individual agencies and military branches within the Pentagon were able to manage their own communications with Congress. A second memo, issued Oct. 17, directed a “working group to further define the guidance on legislative engagements.”