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BumRushDaShow

(171,571 posts)
Mon May 4, 2026, 06:56 AM Yesterday

Pete Hegseth is now bringing his wife to Pentagon meetings after he ousted top officials: report

Source: The Independent

Sunday 03 May 2026 20:02 EDT


Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is now bringing his wife to meetings with Pentagon staffers as his inner circle grows tighter, according to a report.

The move comes as Hegseth has faced increased criticism and ousted more than two dozen Pentagon officials in recent weeks. It also comes as Hegseth leads the nation’s efforts in the Iran war and constantly promotes the success the U.S. has had in its attacks. Hegseth has now grown increasingly isolated within the Pentagon, according to The Guardian.

Hegseth has also expressed fear and paranoia about President Donald Trump firing him, the report noted. Now, Hegseth has brought his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, a fellow former Fox News producer, to some meetings and she sits in the back of the room.

It’s unclear if Jennifer had any role at the meetings or was just there to observe.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-wife-pentagon-firings-b2969875.html



She must be Kegbreath's binkie. She and MTG could be twins.



57 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Pete Hegseth is now bringing his wife to Pentagon meetings after he ousted top officials: report (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Yesterday OP
clown show Whip-poor-will Yesterday #1
Might be based on issues of control. no_hypocrisy Yesterday #2
Yep, look at the way he holds onto her Walleye Yesterday #6
Yeah lonely bird 10 hrs ago #57
Many years ago, I had a professor bring his wife livetohike Yesterday #3
Well Thank God JBTaurus83 Yesterday #4
Maybe she sneaks in the vodka nips in her pocket book. dem4decades Yesterday #5
I got a little chuckle... llmart Yesterday #13
I still call it a "pocketbook" BumRushDaShow Yesterday #16
Me too. llmart Yesterday #20
The voice of my mom saying - BumRushDaShow Yesterday #21
pocketbook and billfold jmbar2 Yesterday #38
We never used "billfold" that much it at all BumRushDaShow Yesterday #42
Not sure why we called it a billfold - it was usually pretty empty of bills. jmbar2 Yesterday #46
I did have a bunch of coin purses BumRushDaShow 23 hrs ago #48
One of those mom-isms? We 50's born boomers got loads of those! Bengus81 Yesterday #43
Ditto... yorkster Yesterday #25
Maybe she's there because he can't remember details when he's blackout drunk johnnyplankton Yesterday #7
She's there for "moral support" nuxvomica Yesterday #8
Probably to make sure he stays sober. dflprincess Yesterday #28
Does she even have a security clearance. Ray Bruns Yesterday #9
From her bio, she has never held a position requiring a security clearance. TomSlick 22 hrs ago #52
"Hegseth has now grown increasingly isolated within the Pentagon" Dulcinea Yesterday #10
;-{) CROSSING THRESHOLDS Goonch Yesterday #11
Does she have security clearance? mgardener Yesterday #12
Does she have a security clearance? AverageOldGuy Yesterday #14
Putin's agenda... dlk Yesterday #15
His chief enabler. travelingthrulife Yesterday #17
How quaint.........next up give her the code book for the missiles going thru Cheyenne Mountain.......... turbinetree Yesterday #18
Trump Been Lootin', evil mastermind of crashing Pete Hegseth into the Pentagon. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Yesterday #19
Apparently,she has been misogyny proofed. BattleRow Yesterday #22
Kid Rock will probably be next Beaverhausen Yesterday #23
Hey, Kid Rock flew in a helicopter.. Permanut Yesterday #27
It would have been more fun if Kid Rock had hijacked Ilsa Yesterday #31
Talk about insecure. BradBo Yesterday #24
who's more likely to lie - the media or this administration? samsingh Yesterday #26
She's there to keep him on the straight and narrow GenThePerservering Yesterday #29
Gee, when John Lennon started doing that, the Beatles broke up. n/t malthaussen Yesterday #30
oSNL needs to parody this. Blonde with pink coat is a Ilsa Yesterday #32
Of course he's bringing his wife, Buddyzbuddy Yesterday #33
He Rebl2 Yesterday #40
WTAF? How dafuq did she get clearance? Bribes? sakabatou Yesterday #34
A lovely dinner date over bombs and booze. Efilroft Sul Yesterday #35
Who will play her on SNL? twodogsbarking Yesterday #36
MTG...if she's so em "pissed" at Republicants then show us Bengus81 Yesterday #45
I thought he hated women in the military. Guess it's OK for military meetings when your wife Marie Marie Yesterday #37
How in Rebl2 Yesterday #39
We sometimes have a spouse show up with a new AA member RainCaster Yesterday #41
Was his mommy unavailable? struggle4progress Yesterday #44
I was wondering if he was longing for BumRushDaShow 23 hrs ago #47
How does she have that level of security clearance? JT45242 22 hrs ago #49
Designated driver Katcat 22 hrs ago #50
"Check out my wife! Now stop looking at her, she's mine!" Grokenstein 22 hrs ago #51
His emotional support person? Aussie105 21 hrs ago #53
OPSEC! Has he even heard of it? HappyLarge 16 hrs ago #54
Is she still working in television "news"? SomewhereInTheMiddle 14 hrs ago #55
My first thought as well BumRushDaShow 10 hrs ago #56

livetohike

(24,380 posts)
3. Many years ago, I had a professor bring his wife
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:09 AM
Yesterday

to class for a few sessions. Then he didn’t show up and the department head taught for the rest of the semester. The gossip was the original professor had a nervous breakdown. This article reminds me of that.

JBTaurus83

(1,624 posts)
4. Well Thank God
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:15 AM
Yesterday

Now that we have the “Legally Blonde” knock off there, the Iran war should fix itself in no time!

llmart

(17,709 posts)
13. I got a little chuckle...
Mon May 4, 2026, 08:51 AM
Yesterday

out of your use of the term "pocket book". I haven't heard anyone use that word in decades.

BumRushDaShow

(171,571 posts)
21. The voice of my mom saying -
Mon May 4, 2026, 10:38 AM
Yesterday
"Hand me my pocketbook so I can get my wallet" will never fade.

BumRushDaShow

(171,571 posts)
42. We never used "billfold" that much it at all
Mon May 4, 2026, 05:23 PM
Yesterday

If it could hold money and any type of card (had slits for driver's license, credit cards, and even an insert for photos, etc), it was a "wallet"!

Alternately, one of my uncles loved to carry around a wad of $100 bills and he would put THAT in what I would call a "billfold" - basically something that was a long narrow cover (usually leather) with a metal clip on the inside running across the center, where you could fasten a wad of paper currency, and then fold the whole thing in half to slide in a pocket.

jmbar2

(8,113 posts)
46. Not sure why we called it a billfold - it was usually pretty empty of bills.
Mon May 4, 2026, 05:38 PM
Yesterday

Our coin purses got used heavily...

BumRushDaShow

(171,571 posts)
48. I did have a bunch of coin purses
Mon May 4, 2026, 06:12 PM
23 hrs ago

for change and bus tokens (and sometimes safety pins and extra bobby pins)!

nuxvomica

(14,171 posts)
8. She's there for "moral support"
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:41 AM
Yesterday

Because arrested-development boy needs his mommy to feel safe. Normally, when we encounter such people in our ordinary, day-to-day lives we have the option of just completely avoiding them. Instead, we are forced to witness this crowd's hot messiness on the national stage.

Ray Bruns

(6,628 posts)
9. Does she even have a security clearance.
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:58 AM
Yesterday

Don’t answer, it’s a rhetorical question.
Of course she doesn’t.

TomSlick

(13,068 posts)
52. From her bio, she has never held a position requiring a security clearance.
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:49 PM
22 hrs ago

The reasonable assumption is that she does not have a security clearance.

Any discussion of classified information in her presence would be illegal.

Dulcinea

(10,251 posts)
10. "Hegseth has now grown increasingly isolated within the Pentagon"
Mon May 4, 2026, 08:07 AM
Yesterday

When the SecDef is "increasingly isolated" that's never a good sign. He may be headed for a mental breakdown, or they're afraid of how he'll react when he's fired.

That said, Colin Jost's portrayals of Hegseth on SNL are hilarious! Spot on!

AverageOldGuy

(4,083 posts)
14. Does she have a security clearance?
Mon May 4, 2026, 08:56 AM
Yesterday

Last edited Mon May 4, 2026, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Does she understand that what she hears and sees in Pentagon meetings stays in the room?

But, hey, a vote for Kamala is a vote for war.

travelingthrulife

(5,484 posts)
17. His chief enabler.
Mon May 4, 2026, 09:42 AM
Yesterday

I will never forget the first Easter party at the White House for this turd. Whiskey Pete was getting all belligerent with a reporter and his wife and kids immediately perked up and surrounded him. It was clearly a normal routine for them.

turbinetree

(27,686 posts)
18. How quaint.........next up give her the code book for the missiles going thru Cheyenne Mountain..........
Mon May 4, 2026, 10:10 AM
Yesterday

so that she can bring them for girl friend night and stags and wags...........and then brags that she got her top secret clearance married to a wanna be traitor in the pentagon...............

Ilsa

(64,501 posts)
31. It would have been more fun if Kid Rock had hijacked
Mon May 4, 2026, 01:40 PM
Yesterday

the helo alone and crash-landed it somewhere. Emphasis on "crash."

samsingh

(18,467 posts)
26. who's more likely to lie - the media or this administration?
Mon May 4, 2026, 12:39 PM
Yesterday

does this administration ever tell the truth?

GenThePerservering

(3,603 posts)
29. She's there to keep him on the straight and narrow
Mon May 4, 2026, 01:04 PM
Yesterday

probably signals to him when he's beginning to slip so he can course correct.

I have no doubt that she's the boss here - these performatively masculine dudes are always squishy in the middle and can't manage themselves.

Ilsa

(64,501 posts)
32. oSNL needs to parody this. Blonde with pink coat is a
Mon May 4, 2026, 01:43 PM
Yesterday

real standout on a conference room full of Army green, navy blue, white, khaki, etc.

Buddyzbuddy

(2,808 posts)
33. Of course he's bringing his wife,
Mon May 4, 2026, 02:22 PM
Yesterday

his mommy is pissed off with him. He can't very well bring her, sheesh.

Marie Marie

(11,453 posts)
37. I thought he hated women in the military. Guess it's OK for military meetings when your wife
Mon May 4, 2026, 03:33 PM
Yesterday

acts as your support animal. (thanks to whichever clever DU-er named that months ago - spot on.)

RainCaster

(13,841 posts)
41. We sometimes have a spouse show up with a new AA member
Mon May 4, 2026, 05:12 PM
Yesterday

But that's usually because the judge would not allow him to drive.

Grokenstein

(6,401 posts)
51. "Check out my wife! Now stop looking at her, she's mine!"
Mon May 4, 2026, 07:46 PM
22 hrs ago

Her: "I just love real he-men with Teutonic tattoos who are incredibly insecure and play fast and loose with classified information! ...Please excuse me, I have to make a long-distance call."

Aussie105

(8,120 posts)
53. His emotional support person?
Mon May 4, 2026, 08:08 PM
21 hrs ago

Protection against the meanies?

Bringing mommy in next, perhaps?


HappyLarge

(90 posts)
54. OPSEC! Has he even heard of it?
Tue May 5, 2026, 01:51 AM
16 hrs ago

Bringing your emotional support wife to high level pentagon meetings is just…I don‘t have the words. If I had brought my spouse to briefings when I was active duty, I’d have been courtmartialed.

55. Is she still working in television "news"?
Tue May 5, 2026, 03:02 AM
14 hrs ago

Is this basically giving Fox an inside view of the workings of the Pentagon?

From my time working for the DoD (Bush II and Obama) I remember our annual required Ethics training talking about how important it was to avoid even the "appearance of impropriety."

I am assuming that is no longer a thing.

BumRushDaShow

(171,571 posts)
56. My first thought as well
Tue May 5, 2026, 07:44 AM
10 hrs ago

Even if she wasn't, I'm sure she gas plenty of contacts to feed info to.

From my time working for the DoD (Bush II and Obama) I remember our annual required Ethics training talking about how important it was to avoid even the "appearance of impropriety."

I am assuming that is no longer a thing.


It's a thing for the lowly civil servants but not so much for the GS-1000s.

I was a fed from the start of Raygun's 2nd term through to the first couple weeks of 45's first term and every damn year, we ran the flaming gauntlet of annual "Ethics" training and that included 3 major revisions to the Hatch Act (under Poppy, Clinton, and Obama). I remember at one point when there was confusion about whether feds could even display lawn signs at their residence or a bumper sticker on their car.
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