Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is under renewed scrutiny following reports that he ordered a room in the Pentagon to be renovated as a makeup studio ahead of television appearances.
The initial idea, as reported by CBS, had a budget of $40,000, which has since been scaled down. This comes amid budget cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Highlights
- Hegseth faces scrutiny for a costly makeup studio amid budget cuts.
- The Pentagon denies the claims, stating upgrades used existing inventory.
- Hegseth called the CBS news story 'totally fake,' suggesting ulterior motives.
- This after new Signal chats were leaked this week of Hegseth's discussions on Yemen military plans with family members.
A spokesperson from the Department of Defense (DOD) told CBS News: “Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration.”
Hegseth has come under fire after claims he demanded a makeup studio in the Pentagon
Image credits: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Another source also told CBS News that the green room was renovated earlier this year, and a large mirror along with enhanced lighting for makeup was added.
In response to the new renovation claims, the Pentagon's Rapid Response X account posted three key highlights, stating that there is “no lighted mirror,” the changes “didn't cost thousands,” and the added items “came from existing inventory.”
The tweet also called the article by CBS News “trash.”
Image credits: DODResponse
Before becoming defense secretary, Hegseth was a morning show co-host on Fox News. He has also denied the claims made by CBS, saying on X that it was a “totally fake story.”
He added that they “should have installed a tampon machine in the men’s bathroom at DoD instead.”
“The leftist ‘news’ media would have loved that,” he added.
Image credits: CBS News
In an appearance on Fox News, he also blamed the media for revealing war plans that were shared in a Signal group chat.
The messages, revealing Hegseth’s discussion of a military operation to bomb targets in Yemen, were leaked after The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg was mistakenly added to the group chat.
This week, a second Signal group chat involving Hegseth was leaked, also revealing discussions about military plans in Yemen with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
Hegseth, an ex-FOX host, lambasted CBS for publishing a “fake story”
Image credits: PeteHegseth
The messages were similar to the first chat and revealed information about flight schedules for F/A-18 Hornets targeting the rebel Houthi group in Yemen.
While Signal is end-to-end encrypted, it is an unclassified platform and can be vulnerable to hacking.
This adds to Hegseth’s controversial history, which includes his support of policies such as favoring using the US military to curb domestic riots, supporting interrogation methods of waterboarding, and banning women in roles of combat while pardoning US soldiers convicted of war crimes.
Image credits: Fox News
While Trump and the DOD stand by Hegseth, three top advisors from The Pentagon were fired last week amid an investigation into departmental leaks.
This included Hegseth’s top advisor, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg.
Despite the criticism, Hegseth has continued to appear on Fox News, where he has defended his performance as the second Trump administration nears its first 100 days.