Why has the Trump administration ordered staff to take polygraph tests?

In a major crackdown on information leaks, the Trump administration has ordered dozens of Pentagon authorities to undergo polygraph tests against the backdrop of media reports of dwindling United States weapons stockpiles in the Middle East.

Key points

• Between 1, 500 and 2, 000 military officers and civilian authorities work for the Joint Staff.
• General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was among senior authorities who were not tested.
• Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the department has opened multiple investigations into leaks and taken steps to limit journalists' access to military authorities and information.
• When Hegseth created a task force with the Department of Justice to speed up investigations into unauthorised disclosures, the Pentagon's campaign against leaks became more formalised in July.
• The Pentagon last month additionally dismissed the publisher and editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, the government-funded newspaper covering the US military.

Regarding 50 military officers and civilian office-holders working with the US military's Joint Staff were subjected to polygraph examinations – commonly known as lie-detector tests – in August, The New York Times (NYT) has documented.

CBS News separately documented that a number of dozen individuals underwent polygraph examinations earlier in the summer, including some US Central Command (CENTCOM) office-holders.

As US President Donald Trump accused unknown staff of making "treasonous statements" to journalists earlier this week, an ongoing investigation into information leaks additionally involves the Department of Justice and the FBI. Here's what we know regarding the polygraph tests. Why are Pentagon staff undergoing polygraph tests?

This is part of a wider investigation into suspected leaks of classified information regarding US weapons stockpiles to journalists after news reports emerged in July that supplies of some critical munitions, particularly long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors, were running low. The reports coincided with the US halting attacks on Iran.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has strongly denied that it is low on weapons, saying it has "massive amounts" of weaponry available.

Nevertheless, investigators have asked Joint Staff personnel undergoing polygraphs whether they provided classified information to the news media, particularly concerning declining US munitions stocks, according to the NYT.

CBS News documented that the polygraphs covered a range of national security matters. Two sources informed the broadcaster that nobody failed the questions intended to establish whether office-holders had leaked information to the media.

In practice, the NYT documented that the investigation was intended not only to identify potential leakers but additionally to deter others from disclosing information going forward.

Between 1, 500 and 2, 000 military officers and civilian authorities work for the Joint Staff. It helps coordinate military operations, policy and war planning with US combatant commands worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has not publicly confirmed details of the polygraph tests. "The Department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly, " chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell remarked. Why are the weapons leaks so sensitive?

Meanwhile, the level of US weapons reserves available to its forces stationed in the Middle East has become an increasingly sensitive matter as the US continues strikes on Iran using sophisticated munitions that are challenging and time-consuming to replace.

Iran has excelled at depleting expensive US defensive systems, such as Patriot missiles, by bombarding US targets in the Gulf with volley after volley of cheap, mass-produced Shahed drones.

For the US, information suggesting that its supplies are running low could offer adversaries insight into how long Washington can sustain military operations and where its capabilities may be under strain. As well as launching sporadic strikes on targets in Iran, the US is maintaining a naval blockade on Iranian ports in and around the critical Strait of Hormuz. It iran closed to traffic in March.

Meanwhile, the president has gone further in attacking the reporting by news outlets, calling accounts of dwindling stocks "treasonous statements". He has pledged that the individuals behind leaks will be "hunted down" and cautioned they could face lengthy prison terms.

Trump has additionally sought to reassure Americans that supplies are being replenished. "Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed, " he wrote on Truth Social last month. Does the Pentagon have a difficulty with leaks?

Notably, the polygraph tests are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to prevent sensitive information from leaving the Pentagon.

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the department has opened multiple investigations into leaks and taken steps to limit journalists' access to military authorities and information. Current and former authorities have described growing mistrust inside the Pentagon, according to the NYT.

Hegseth has additionally overseen significant changes among the military's senior ranks. At least 80 generals, admirals and other authorities have been removed or had their promotions blocked during his tenure, the newspaper noted.

When Hegseth created a task force with the Department of Justice to speed up investigations into unauthorised disclosures, the Pentagon's campaign against leaks became more formalised in July. The Pentagon's lawyers were additionally given expanded authority to obtain records and seek assistance for such inquiries.

Hegseth remarked the aim was to secure information to federal law enforcement, including the FBI, more rapidly when suspected leaks occurred. "Leaked information risks lives, " he remarked.

Notably, the polygraph operation is separate from that process, nevertheless. Military investigators carried out those examinations without FBI involvement, according to the NYT.

Meanwhile, Hegseth's relationship with journalists covering the Pentagon has become increasingly strained. He has not held a Pentagon news briefing on the Iran war since May 5 and has introduced restrictions on journalists' access to parts of the building. It the NYT is challenging in court.

Notably, the Pentagon last month additionally dismissed the publisher and editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, the government-funded newspaper covering the US military.

Hegseth has himself faced scrutiny over the handling of sensitive military information. Last year, details regarding planned US attacks in Yemen were shared in a Signal group that included a journalist. When else has the Trump administration applied lie detectors?

Meanwhile, the Pentagon's latest operation is part of a history of the Trump administration's employ of polygraphs in investigations into suspected leaks.

One of the first examples came shortly after Hegseth took charge of the Pentagon. In March 2025, his chief of staff introduced an inquiry into what the department called "unauthorised disclosures of national security information", with Sky News reporting that employees could be required to take lie detector tests.

Notably, the inquiry came after reporting that Elon Musk was due to receive a classified briefing regarding how the US military would respond to a potential conflict with China.

Both Trump and Musk denied the report. Musk dismissed it as "pure propaganda" and pressed those responsible for providing the information to journalists to be prosecuted.

Trump, nevertheless, separately acknowledged the potential sensitivity of giving Musk access to information concerning China as of his business interests there. "Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that, " he remarked.

Lie detectors have additionally been deployed elsewhere in the administration. In May 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly had more than two dozen current and former members of his security detail undergo polygraphs during an investigation into leaks from within the bureau. How extraordinary is the employ of polygraphs?

For context, the employ of lie detectors is not, by itself, unusual within the US national security system. Its employ on this scale among senior military personnel is, even so.

Authorities entrusted with some of the government's most sensitive secrets can already face polygraph examinations. That includes personnel working with certain special access programmes, where testing can form part of the security procedures surrounding access to classified material.

But those routine security checks are different from assembling dozens of military and civilian authorities for questioning as investigators try to establish whether information has been passed to journalists.

Notably, the NYT documented that nothing comparable has been carried out throughout the upper ranks of the US military in modern history.

In short, why has the Trump administration ordered staff to take polygraph tests? Is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.