Pentagon Began Clampdown on Senior Leaders’ Public Speaking Months Ago, Memos Reveal

Pentagon leaders nine months ago ordered a sharp clampdown on public appearances by senior U.S. military leaders and senior civilian Trump administration appointees, limits that have kept them largely out of sight and out of trouble with President Trump. The new rule: only one senior military leader and one civilian leader are allowed to appear at each “outside” non-government event, per day. Leaders must coordinate their appearances through a central DOD personnel management office and must seek waivers to break the one-per-day rule. The directive has changed how defense leaders participate in nearly every kind of public event, from global policy conferences to intimate academic panel discussions to on-camera press interviews. Pentagon reporters have known since at least last autumn that 4-star officers were being restricted from appearing together at some large events, but this is the first confirmation of the existence of an official rule.