Pentagon insiders are sounding the alarm over the “mess” engulfing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s department — as his wife reportedly tightens her grip on both her husband and his public image.
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“She’s like his parole officer and PR agent all at once,” one source told the Daily Mail, which detailed Jennifer Hegseth’s unusually powerful but unofficial presence inside the Trump Pentagon.
“Now there’s a woman with an extremely tight leash on the man she married,” another source told the outlet Thursday.
Staffers have reportedly nicknamed Jennifer Hegseth “Yoko Ono,” comparing her to John Lennon’s fiercely protective wife. She has accompanied her husband to meetings with foreign defense officials, reportedly taken notes and photos during some discussions, and was included in a sensitive Signal chat about U.S. military operations.
Hegseth’s wife also helped bar reporters from the Pentagon, “one of several moves to choke off transparency,” according to the Daily Mail.
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“People should know what a mess it is,” an Army officer told the outlet. “Things have gone from bad to worse. It’s unbelievably chaotic and demoralizing.”
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended Jennifer Hegseth as “an accomplished leader in her own right and a devoted military spouse.”
“She is a vital asset and a true force multiplier for our mission,” he said in a statement, adding that the department “not only welcomes her current leadership but actively plans to involve her even more deeply in the future.”
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