Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth relies so heavily on his wife that he has put her in sensitive security roles, which has alarmed insiders.
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According to a Wednesday New York Times article, Hegseth has leaned on his wife, Jennifer, so heavily that current and former officials say it has clouded his judgment and raised questions about his leadership.
Jennifer Hegseth used to be Pete Hegseth’s producer on Fox News. She has since become her husband’s most influential adviser and de facto producer at the Pentagon, according to The Times. She has prepped him for appearances, sat in on his meetings with journalists, interviewed potential staff, and helped shape Defense Department videos.
An anonymous source familiar with Hegseth’s thinking told The Times that the defense secretary likes to have his wife around when he travels to keep him out of trouble. The Times noted that Hegseth has a history of heavy drinking.
Hegseth even credits his “two J’s” for transforming his life: Jennifer and Jesus, according to The Times.
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However, he’s also gone further, bringing her into a highly sensitive meeting with top British defense officials after the U.S. temporarily stopped sharing military intelligence with Ukraine, The Times noted. British intelligence officials were forced to speak in general terms about the officers on the ground in Ukraine because they were uneasy with Jennifer’s presence.
Jennifer was part of the Signal group chat in which Hegseth shared attack plans for U.S. warplanes targeting the Houthis in Yemen, The Times noted. The Pentagon has not said if she has a security clearance.
“It’s bonkers that a defense secretary would involve his wife in his sensitive official duties, including sharing details of an impending military operation, and face zero consequences,” John Ullyot, who left the Pentagon as chief spokesman after three months under Hegseth, told The Times. “Any president deserves better judgment from his national security leaders.”
“This is not normal,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview with MSNBC last year. “Secretary Hegseth has one of the highest levels of classification access. He can’t just hand that to his wife and say, ‘Here, honey, hold my beer, and hold my classified information.'”
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