Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth launched a fierce attack on CNN at a Pentagon press briefing on Friday, March 13, 2026, insisting that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better” as he criticized the cable news outlet’s reporting on the conflict with Iran.
Hegseth’s public rebuke was aimed at a CNN piece published Thursday, March 12, which asserted the Trump administration had underestimated Iran’s likelihood of closing the Strait of Hormuz while planning Operation Epic Fury. The former Fox News host dismissed the story as “patently ridiculous” and “fundamentally unserious.”
“For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that,” Hegseth said at the briefing, drawing audible reactions from some reporters present.
The remark referred to Paramount CEO David Ellison’s pending $111 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. The transaction has prompted broad speculation about possible editorial shifts at the network, especially after the disruption at CBS News since Ellison took control of Paramount.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt amplified Hegseth’s remarks, calling the CNN article “garbage” and “100% fake news” in a post on X. She stated the Pentagon had long planned for Iran potentially closing the strategic waterway.
The contested CNN story relied on several anonymous sources who said the Pentagon and National Security Council had greatly underestimated Iran’s readiness to block the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries roughly 20% of the global oil supply. Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed to continue the blockade after U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father and injured him.
CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson defended the network’s reporting in a statement on Friday, March 13, asserting the outlet’s “only interest is in telling the truth” and that “no amount of political threats or insults” will alter that commitment.
Former CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr responded to Hegseth on X, writing: “CNN has had personnel in combat zones for decades. CNN has had killed and wounded and all with lives changed forever. You have a legal and moral obligation to defend the free press, even the ones you don’t personally like.”
CNN appended a clarification to the article on Friday, noting that Trump administration officials had briefed lawmakers on longstanding military plans to address disruptions to the Strait, though several sources said the briefing suggested no short-term fixes were available.
The confrontation occurred as Ellison sought to reassure CNN employees about editorial autonomy after the acquisition. “Editorial independence will absolutely be maintained. It’s maintained at CBS. It’ll be maintained at CNN,” the Paramount CEO told CNBC last week.
Still, Ellison’s management of CBS News has raised worries among CNN staff. Last fall, he appointed Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press and a former New York Times opinion writer without television newsroom experience, to lead CBS News. Weiss drew heavy criticism for pulling a “60 Minutes” segment about the El Salvador prison CECOT just two hours before it was set to air in December, a move correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi called “political.”
Tensions increased when CBS hired Jeremy Adler, formerly Rep. Liz Cheney’s communications director, sparking backlash from White House officials. “What the **** is Bari Weiss thinking?” one administration source told Axios.
Trump allies have welcomed the idea of changes at CNN. Far-right activist Laura Loomer told The Bulwark she would “happily become a CNN contributor if CNN is controlled by new leadership” after the Paramount deal.
President Trump also weighed in on war coverage, posting on Truth Social that The New York Times would lead readers to “incorrectly think that we are not winning” against Iran’s regime. Trump has long praised Larry Ellison, David’s billionaire father and Oracle founder, calling both men “friends of mine” and “big supporters.”
The Pentagon has restricted press access in recent months. Reporters lost press credentials and office space after declining to accept new reporting rules, and the Pentagon barred press photographers from Iran briefings over allegedly “unflattering” images, according to The Washington Post. Still photographers remained banned at Friday’s briefing.
The Atlantic’s national security reporter, Nancy Youssef, also said she was individually denied entry to the March 13 briefing — the sole outlet blocked — a day after she published a piece questioning the U.S. endgame in Iran.
Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin, who formerly worked with Hegseth, criticized the access restrictions on Wednesday, March 11, while receiving an RTDNA First Amendment Award at The Watergate Hotel in Washington. “I’m concerned that during this time of war, news organizations, which have reported uninterrupted from inside the Pentagon since 1947, are no longer given that access,” Griffin said.
The White House intensified its campaign against CNN by publishing an article titled “CNN Is Lying to Undermine Operation Epic Fury’s Crushing Success.” The conflict entered its third week with no end in sight, as Israel claimed on March 17 that it had assassinated Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in the latest high-profile targeted killing since the operation began.
