‘Incompetent, Self Absorbed Pawn’: Pete Hegseth Clowned for Installing Makeup Room at Pentagon for TV Appearances Amid Federal Cuts and Security Flubs
Just when we thought matters couldn’t get any worse for those in charge of protecting national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing fresh scrutiny over the installation of a makeup studio at the Pentagon.
The refreshed nook in the 82-year-old edifice— outfitted with a lighted mirror, director’s chair, and custom countertop — reportedly cost several thousand dollars to construct at a time when the administration is pushing for steep federal budget cuts.
The renovation to set up the studio was first expected to exceed $40,000, but sources say the plans were later trimmed down. The administration has not provided an exact price tag for the project. An in-house construction crew completed the powder room earlier this year, giving Hegseth a permanent space to spruce up before going in front of cameras.
Carved out of a previously bare-bones office called the Green Room, the space sat mostly unused with minimal furnishings. Just steps from the press briefing room, someone on Hegseth’s staff apparently saw an opportunity.
The improved space comes amid deepening turmoil at the Pentagon, including growing questions about Hegseth’s leadership and whether he was out of his depth, primarily due to Signalgate—an intensifying scandal that has dogged Hegseth since the security breach came to light in March.
His tenure, after just three months, has been rocked by an inspector general review, abrupt firings of top figures in his inner circle, and allegations of politicized loyalty tests within the department. Multiple high-level aides, including his senior adviser Dan Caldwell and deputy chief of staff Dan Selnick, were recently ousted as part of an internal probe into leaks concerning Hegseth’s use of an unsecured messaging app.
One of those aides, Colin Carroll, remains on administrative leave. Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, was also quietly reassigned to a “special projects” role after internal clashes with the leadership team.
Since parting ways with Kasper, Hegseth has brought Marine Corps Col. Ricky Buria — a holdover from Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s tenure — into his inner circle as a senior adviser, a move signaling his effort to reshape Pentagon leadership amid increasing tensions. While Buria is seen as a trusted ally to Hegseth, some in Trump’s political orbit have questioned whether he’s up to the job. Buria helped set up the Signal app on one of Hegseth’s computers inside his office at the Pentagon, according to CNN.
On Tuesday morning, Hegseth reportedly used the new powder room at the Pentagon for a Fox News appearance, where he shifted blame for leaking sensitive military strike details in a Signal group chat he started, accusing the media and former Defense officials instead.
Hegseth’s distressed appearance reportedly rankled White House officials, who were already frustrated that the defense chief had booked himself for the segment without coordinating with them first.
During the interview, Hegseth dismissed the ongoing Signal controversy as a smear campaign by the conservative advisers he fired. According to The New York Times, senior White House aides have since urged him to get the chaos within his team under control, as the drumbeat of controversies was dragging down President Trump.
Though the Pentagon insists the office renovations were modest and relied on cheap materials, the optics of a TV-ready makeup studio for a former Fox News personality have ignited a firestorm while highlighting further signs of chaos inside the Defense Department.
A Defense Department spokesperson said the room would also be available to senior leaders and VIPs ahead of press engagements. The additions — including a director’s chair— were pulled from existing inventory, while the new countertop was built by in-house facilities staff.
“For this upgrade, we were deliberately conservative and opted for several less expensive, on-hand materiel solutions,” the spokesperson said, according to CBS — the first network to report the story.
Despite claims of penny-pinching, criticism was swift on social media, particularly from Democrats, who highlighted the contrast between the spending on the powder room and the administration’s rhetoric on government thrift.
The Lincoln Project literally clowned Hegseth, posting a meme that likened the defense secretary to a knock-off Ronald McDonald.
“Only makeup that our Sec Def should be putting on,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona posted on X, sharing a GIF of Arnold Schwarzenegger smearing war paint on his face in the movie “Predator.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer weighed in with a blistering one-liner: “Sources say his favorite makeup products at the Pentagon are concealer and coverup.”
Florida congressman Jared Moskowitz mocked the issue with a lipstick emoji, adding: “This isn’t a Pentagon, it’s a TV set.”
The Pentagon pushed back online, insisting “items added to the GREEN ROOM (not a makeup studio) came from existing inventory” and claiming CBS had inflated the cost.
“Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration,” a Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.
Hegseth has been doing his own makeup ahead of TV appearances instead of hiring a professional makeup artist, a defense official told the network.
The addition of the makeup room recalls the opening of Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which shows Bush administration officials being powdered and prepped for the cameras before addressing the nation after the 9/11 attacks — a moment long used to underscore the performance aspect of power. Twenty-four years later, with Hegseth focused on his own on-camera optics, some critics say little has changed.
Meanwhile, the upgrades that were quietly approved following Hegseth’s Senate confirmation were reportedly suggested by Tami Radabaugh, Hegseth’s deputy assistant for strategic engagement, herself a former Fox and CBS News producer.
Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, also a former Fox producer, and chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell both signed off on the makeover before it moved forward, according to multiple sources.
Hegseth denied the CBS report outright.
“Totally fake story. No ‘orders’ and no ‘makeup,’” he posted on X, despite photographic evidence showing the new furnishings. Pentagon officials later clarified that while no external makeup artist was hired, the secretary has been using the room to prepare for television interviews.
The latest turmoil served to compound other controversies swirling around Hegseth.
He admitted to sharing sensitive operational information about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen with unauthorized individuals, including his wife and personal attorney, in a second private Signal group chat. The debacle came on the heels of the initial Signal chat revelation, a March 24 article in which The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he’d accidentally been included in a circle of high-level officials discussing the war plans against Yemen after a botched group invitation.
While Hegseth maintains no classified details were disclosed, the Pentagon’s inspector general has since launched a formal inquiry into whether Hegseth shared sensitive or classified information in the national-security group chat.
Critics argue the series of blunders reveals Hegseth’s lack of experience and his blatant disregard for the weight of national security.
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concern, with Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker and Rhode Island Democrat Sen. Jack Reed jointly requesting the investigation. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force general, became the first Republican to call openly for Hegseth’s removal, saying he “wouldn’t tolerate” the conduct if he were in command.
Inside the Pentagon, some civil servants and military leaders say they feel under siege. Several employees reportedly were asked to submit résumés to prove their “patriotism,” while others say Hegseth’s team has combed through past social media posts for signs of disloyalty to the Trump administration. One senior Joint Chiefs of Staff official said Hegseth has even threatened polygraph tests to sniff out purported leakers.
Hegseth squeaked through the Senate on Jan. 24 with a single-vote margin, saved only by Vice President JD Vance stepping in to break the tie. Now in the job, he’s wasted no time projecting a battle-hardened image — one he says the military desperately needs. In just the last month, he’s posted a steady stream of photos and videos on X, showing off workouts with combat troops in far-flung corners of the world.
“Every rep, every drop of sweat, reminds us of the toughness and tenacity that defend our nation,” he wrote last week.
However, his enthusiasm wasn’t winning over everybody.
Some officials said his posturing felt more like a personal branding tour than a focus on the defense mission and protecting troops.
Still, Trump continues to stand by his embattled defense secretary. “He’s doing a great job,” Trump said earlier this week, brushing aside the mounting controversies.
Still, the decision to outfit a television green room in the middle of budget-cutting rhetoric and national security concerns has become a flashpoint — not for its cost alone, but for what critics say it symbolizes: a Pentagon leadership more focused on optics than operations.
As Hegseth faces investigations, a staff exodus, and bipartisan rebuke, the green room may prove to be more than a vanity project — it’s fast becoming a metaphor for a Defense Department in disarray.