Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired back at a report he ordered a makeup studio installed in the Pentagon, ostensibly to touch him and other officials up for TV hits.
While the Defense Department acknowledged that it made upgrades to the Green Room adjacent to the Pentagon Briefing Room, Hegseth, 44, took issue with a CBS News report that the area was set aside for military primping.
“1) Totally fake story. No ‘orders’ and no ‘makeup’ — but whatever. 2) We should have installed tampon machines in every men’s bathroom at DoD instead — the leftist ‘news’ media would have loved that,” Hegseth fumed on X Wednesday evening.
CBS reported that the Pentagon initially eyed a $40,000 remodeling plan for the Green Room before scaling it back.
A spokesperson told The Post that officials received an initial estimate of $10,000-$15,000, but “did not pursue those options” and instead spent “a few hundred dollars to cut, stain, and install a wooden countertop in the room.”
“The Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs recently upgraded a space known informally as the ‘Green Room,’ to offer senior leaders and VIPs a place to prepare prior to press engagements before appearing on television,” the spokesperson added.
“Most of the changes in the Green Room were recycled furniture modifications–a director’s style chair, mirror, and a makeup light—all of which were added from existing inventories. A countertop was added and constructed internally.”
The Defense Department’s “Rapid Response” published an image of the revamped facility, asking: “Does the fake news NOT have anything better to do?”
Democrats were quick to skewer Hegseth over the initial report, given the various controversies that have marked his first months as defense secretary.
“Sources say his favorite makeup products at the Pentagon are concealer and coverup,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ribbed on X Wednesday afternoon.
“Only makeup that our Sec Def should be putting on,” jabbed Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) alongside a GIF of Arnold Schwarzenegger applying camouflage stripes in the film “Predator.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) posted the emojis used in a leaked Signal chat among top administration officials about March 15 airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen and added a lipstick one to mock Hegseth.
The Defense Department insists that “changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration.”
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, is generally seen as very media-savvy compared to many of his predecessors, cutting videos for social media and doing frequent TV hits.
The Pentagon chief has faced controversy over recent days over allegations that he messaged sensitive material to his wife, brother and personal attorney in a second Signal group and high-profile departures among his aides.
Read the full article here
