News/Commentary

‘A totally fake story’: Pete Hegseth says he didn’t add a makeup room to the Pentagon

April 24, 2025 | | Print Article

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth mocked the “leftist ‘news’ media” as he shot down a report claiming he added a makeup studio to the Pentagon.

A Pentagon spokesperson commented on the CBS News report, and Hegseth responded in a social media post Wednesday evening after Jennifer Jacobs made the claims.

Citing “multiple sources,” Jacobs, who was introduced on the CBS News report as a “scoop machine,” wrote that Hegseth “ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances.”

(Video Credit: CBS News)

Plans were initially estimated to cost more than $40,000 but were “scaled back,” the report claimed.

“The suggestion for improving the space came from Tami Radabaugh, the deputy assistant to the secretary for strategic engagement and a former producer for Fox News and for CBS News, according to multiple sources. The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, and the defense secretary’s wife, Jennifer Hegseth, also a former Fox producer, expressed their approval for the upgrade before it was undertaken, one of the sources said,” the report continued.

A Pentagon green room previously had “minimal furnishings,” according to Jacobs, who said Hegseth “hasn’t used the press room to brief reporters.”

In a post on X, the defense secretary called out the “fake” story.

“1) Totally fake story. No ‘orders’ and no ‘makeup’ — but whatever,” he wrote. “2) We should have installed tampon machines in every men’s bathroom at DoD instead — the leftist “news” media would have loved that.”

In a statement to CBS News, a Defense Department spokesperson said, “Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration.”

“Hegseth is doing his own makeup ahead of TV appearances, not paying for a makeup artist, a defense official told CBS News,” the report noted.

New items such as a “large mirror with makeup lighting” and a director’s chair “came from existing inventories, and facilities services staff constructed a new countertop,” CBS News reported, citing the spokesperson.

“For this upgrade, we were deliberately conservative and opted for several less expensive, on-hand materiel solutions,” the spokesperson said.

The DOD’s Rapid Response account on X blasted the story as “TRASH!”

Others also jumped in on X to throw cold water on the CBS News report.

Frieda Powers
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