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 refurbished nook inside the 82-year-old government 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 before the new administration moved in. Just steps from the press briefing room, someone on Hegseth’s staff apparently saw an opportunity.
The refitted space comes amid deepening turmoil at the Pentagon, including growing questions about Hegseth’s leadership and whether he was out of his depth. The biggest headache for Hegseth so far has been Signalgate—which came to light in March after the new defense secretary had shared secrets about sensitive military operations over an unsecured messaging app.
Hegseth’s term, after just three months, has been rocked by an inspector general review into his involvement with the Signal chat, 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 the 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. The move signaled Hegseth’s effort to reshape Pentagon leadership amid increasing dysfunction and frustrations with his management style. While Buria is seen as a trusted ally to Hegseth, some in Trump’s political orbit have questioned whether he is up to the job. Since coming on board, Buria might have made matters worse for Hegseth after reportedly helping him set up the Signal messaging app on one of Hegseth’s computers inside his office at the Pentagon, according to CNN.
At the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, Hegseth reportedly used the new parlor for a Fox News appearance, where he shifted blame for texting military strike details in the Signal chat that he initiated, 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 during the initial fallout over his use of the app. According to The New York Times, senior White House aides have since urged Hegseth to get his house in order as the drumbeat of controversies was serving to drag down President Trump, already deep underwater in approval polls.
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 Department of Defense.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the room would 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 does his own makeup ahead of TV appearances instead of hiring a professional makeup artist, a defense official told the network.
The new makeup room recalls the opening to Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which satirized Bush administration officials with rare footage showing them applying makeup and prepping 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.
The remodel at the Pentagon was quietly approved in January following Hegseth’s Senate confirmation, and had been suggested by Tami Radabaugh, Hegseth’s deputy assistant for strategic engagement, herself a former Fox and CBS News producer, according to CBS.
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.
Jennifer Hegseth, who was included on the second Signal chat group, recently submitted paperwork for a security clearance at the Pentagon. Defense officials declined to say whether she had been granted one but noted she had not taken part in any meetings where classified information was discussed.
Hegseth has grown increasingly suspicious about internal leaks to the media, prompting the secretary to insulate himself with a tight-knit circle for advice—chief among them, his wife. Aides were mystified initially when Hegseth brought his wife along to high-level talks with Republican senators and to a bilateral summit with UK Defense Secretary John Healey in March, even though she holds no official role within the administration.
As for the new boudoir at the Pentagon, 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 the other controversies swirling around Hegseth.
He has admitted to sharing sensitive operational information about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen with unauthorized individuals, including his wife and personal attorney, in the second private Signal chat. The debacle came on the heels of the first Signal chat, which was disclosed in a March 24 news report 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 receiving a group invitation.
While Hegseth maintains no classified details were shared, the Pentagon’s inspector general has since launched a formal inquiry into whether Hegseth shared sensitive or classified information with other national-security figures in the 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 on Capitol Hill.
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.
