A former senior Pentagon official has accused Pete Hegseth of a potential risk to national security after the defense secretary’s wife got involved in his war against reporters.
The official told The New York Times that Hegseth—President Donald Trump’s self-styled “secretary of war”—displayed “poor judgment” when he tried to “expel” NBC News journalist Courtney Kube from the Pentagon as revenge for her having reported on his checkered private life.
As Hegseth did so, according to stunned former colleagues speaking to the outlet, his wife, Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, who had been assisting Hegseth’s team on communications, weighed in during a private meeting as they sought to turn the screw on reporters.
“It’s hard to find previous reports of a defense secretary letting his wife sit in on official closed-door meetings or task his senior staff in their official duties,” John Ullyot, the chief Pentagon spokesman at the time, told the Times, describing the arrangement as “strange and inappropriate.”
“It shows poor judgment and may pose a risk to national security. As I’ve said before, President Trump deserves better.”
Ullyot, who during Trump’s first term served as deputy assistant to the president and the National Security Council’s chief spokesman—left his role as chief spokesman within a few weeks of Hegseth’s January arrival as secretary of defense and resigned from the administration in April.
Before departing, Ullyot publicly defended Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth’s presence, saying she was “welcome any time in the Pentagon.” He has now told the Times that the statement was issued at Hegseth’s direction.
The episode stretches back to Hegseth’s confirmation hearing held days before Trump’s second inauguration in January, at which the former Fox & Friends Weekend host faced allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and excessive drinking.
As the Senate vetted Hegseth, Kube contributed to a report on an affidavit alleging abuse of his second wife. After confirmation, Hegseth was said to have told aides to bar Kube from the building—an order lawyers vetoed—as part of a wider crackdown on journalists and leaks, the Times reported.
Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, answering questions from the Times about her alleged role in banning Kube, said she was “definitely not part” of it, had “never read” Kube’s work, and “wouldn’t know who she was if she showed up at my front door.”
Hegseth’s department also reportedly barred legacy outlets from shared workspaces in favor of conservative media and curtailed reporters’ ability to roam unescorted, moves denounced by the Pentagon Press Association as an intimidation play.
The defense secretary’s adversarial streak has also spilled over into public swipes at his former Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin, whom he accused of misrepresenting his actions, while Fox News praised her record, the Times reported.
Chief pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Times: “Secretary Hegseth addresses the media far more than all of his predecessors combined and takes his message directly to the troops and the American people. He doesn’t rely on the corrupt filter of the mainstream media, which has done nothing but approach his tenure as Secretary with bad faith coverage and lies.”
In a follow-up comment, he told the Daily Beast: “The New York Times story was disingenuous and filed (sic) with lies from disgruntled former employees that were let go because they were terrible at their jobs.”
It’s not the first time thrice-married Hegseth’s current wife, a former Fox News producer, has hit the headlines.
In April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hegseth had added his wife, who is not an employee of the Defense Department, to Signal chats in which details of a strike on Yemen were discussed, and brought her to sensitive meetings with foreign officials.
That same month, it was reported he had plastered the walls of the Pentagon with photos of his spouse and showcased her presence in internal videos.
Hegseth’s media clampdown continued this week with revised credential rules that still threaten expulsions, even as the Pentagon insists it’s “common sense” to prevent leaks.
Press groups warn it criminalizes routine news-gathering and chills sources.
The squeeze on free speech is also being felt internally at the Pentagon.
It was reported on Thursday that Hegseth has launched nearly 300 investigations into Pentagon personnel over negative comments about his friend, the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Parnell said those who “rejoice at an act of domestic terrorism are unfit to serve,” defending the crackdown.
