A new Pentagon memorandum instructs Department of War personnel to avoid “unauthorized engagements with Congress” and coordinate all congressional interactions with the department’s legislative affairs office.
In a memorandum issued on October 15 that was obtained by Breaking Defense, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg ordered Department of War personnel to coordinate congressional communication with the assistant secretary of war for legislative affairs.
“The Department of War (DoW) relies on a collaborative and close partnership with Congress to achieve our legislative goals,” Hegseth and Feinberg wrote in the memorandum. “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 added, “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.”
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According to Breaking Defense, the Pentagon memorandum states that all interactions between Department of War personnel and Congress will require the approval of the Pentagon’s legislative affairs office. The outlet noted that the Pentagon’s inspector general, comptroller, and general counsel will be exempted from the new restrictions. Additionally, U.S. service members will still be permitted to request assistance from congressional officials and will still have whistleblower protections.
In a statement to Breaking Defense regarding the Pentagon policy change, Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “Congress decides who Congress will talk to, and the continued efforts of the secretary to wall off the department is not consistent with past tradition, and I frankly don’t think it’ll fly with the members or leaders of the committee.”
However, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, argued that the policy change is a “pragmatic step” that will allow the Department of War to review its process of communication with Congress and will provide “increased transparency.”
“The Department intends to improve accuracy and responsiveness in communicating with the Congress to facilitate increased transparency,” Parnell stated. “This review is for processes internal to the Department and does not change how or from whom Congress receives information.”
