Under-fire Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has plastered the walls of the Pentagon with photographs of his ever-present wife.
The snaps can be seen in the background of photographs showing exit-bound government utility man Elon Musk chatting with Hegseth’s team inside defense HQ in late March.
This is likely to grate Pentagon staffers, who are growing increasingly irate at how often Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth is around. “What I’ve seen with [Pete] Hegseth—never in my life have I ever seen this,” one insider said of the situation.
The former Fox News producer, the defense chief’s third wife, is seen front and center in three photographs hung around one briefing room.
In one, she is seen holding a Bible as Vice President JD Vance swore in her husband in January. Hegseth’s seven children—from all three marriages—proudly look on.
Another snap, also from Hegseth’s swearing in, shows Rauchet and her man, while a third also details the ceremony.
It is not known exactly when the photos were hung, but they are further evidence of how deeply embedded Rauchet has become in the Pentagon.
Her constant presence has reportedly rattled staffers, some of whom can’t believe that she has been allowed to sit in on important meetings.
The Wall Street Journal reported that she attended a recent summit with foreign military counterparts, including the British Defence Secretary John Healey.
Hegseth’s now ousted comms man John Ullyot said at the time that, because she’s the defense chief’s wife, “she is welcome any time in the Pentagon.”
The current Pentagon press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, said she “exited the meeting before any sensitive and classified discussions occurred.”
Even still, another former senior Pentagon official said that her presence is “unprecedented.”
“I have never in my professional life seen a spouse sit in on a meeting with counterparts from other countries, where they talk through substantive matters related to our relationship with these foreign militaries,” they said.
Chris Meagher, another former Pentagon press chief, went on record to call it “bewildering.”
“Not only is it unlikely that his wife has a security clearance, but she definitely does not have a need to know the sensitive classified information that Pete Hegseth is apparently sharing with several different text chains,” he said.
Rauchet’s hubris has reportedly led her to request security clearance, but the White House refused to say whether or not this was granted.
Insiders reportedly told The Daily Mail that she dutifully scribbles notes and even takes photographs during meetings.
Rauchet has also tagged along to meetings with lawmakers. CNN spoke to one Senate aide who said that she attended all of Hegseth’s meetings with Republican Senators before his confirmation.
Her presence “totally changed the dynamic” of conversations around allegations of a 2017 sexual assault made against her husband, one source told the publication. Hegseth denies the allegations, saying the encounter with the unidentified woman in a California hotel was consensual.
A former senior Pentagon official who served under a Republican administration said Rauchet’s constant presence “bothered a lot of senators.”
“What I’ve seen with [Pete] Hegseth—never in my life have I ever seen this,” they said.
A Pentagon spokesperson, however, said that Rauchet has “never attended a meeting where sensitive information or classified information was discussed.”
News that Rauchet was in a second Signal group chat where her husband shared details of sensitive military operations has shed renewed light on her position within the government.
She was in the group on the encrypted app along with Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, and the Pentagon head’s brother, Phil Hegseth.
Hegseth has brought on Parlatore as a special aide. His brother, a conservative podcaster, has been granted “special advisor” status.
Rauchet was in the group too, concerning given the unclear status of her clearance and the fact that sensitive military details about strikes on Houthi rebels were discussed.
Greg Williams, the director of the Project on Government Oversight’s Center for Defense Information, said this raised issues around whether Hegseth is a trustworthy keeper of sensitive information.
“It raises serious concerns that Hegseth doesn’t understand the boundaries between his personal life and professional life,” Williams said.
Hegseth has reportedly become increasingly “paranoid” and recently axed three close aides over leaks to the press. Rauchet reportedly shares this distrust of the non-MAGA press and is leaning on her experience as a producer at Fox News to help her husband navigate the media landscape.
This has led some insiders to call her Hegseth’s “human leash,” according to DailyMail.com.
She has also been dubbed Yoko Ono, a reference to the wife of Beatle John Lennon, whose influence on the musical icon became a huge point of contension.
Another insider said Rauchet acts as a “parole officer and PR agent all at once.”
The source added that her role is to “keep his sobriety from slipping, eyes from wandering and pants zipped.”
“I’m sure she’s worried about his infidelity and drinking, but she’s also involved in the shaping of his public image,” another source said, referencing reports that Hegseth would drink on the job while at Fox News.
Hegseth was still married to his second wife, Samantha Deering, when he started an extramarital affair with Rauchet, his producer when he was a host at the network. He later got her pregnant, had a baby, and then married her.
He divorced his first wife Meredith Schwarz in 2009. The New Yorker reported that the split was precipitated by his admission of multiple affairs.
The post Paranoid Hegseth Plasters Pentagon With Photos of Controversial Wife appeared first on The Daily Beast.
