Hegseth changes Pentagon green room into impromptu makeup studio

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth has altered an area behind the Pentagon briefing room to make use of as a make-up studio earlier than media appearances, protection officers confirmed.

The area has lengthy been used as a inexperienced room for officers or company briefing the media, together with earlier Pentagon spokespersons, a protection official mentioned.

Hegseth has not held a public briefing since getting into workplace three months in the past, however he commonly makes use of the area to document tv hits, comparable to one which aired Monday on the conservative information program “Fox & Buddies,” which he beforehand hosted.

The renovations encompass a director’s chair, mirrors and a countertop, both gathered from storage or made by in-house Pentagon staff to keep away from further prices, the official mentioned. Tami Radabaugh, a public affairs aide and Hegseth’s longtime producer, first directed the adjustments within the opening weeks of the secretary’s time in workplace.

Hegseth does his personal make-up, in keeping with the protection official.

“For this improve we have been intentionally conservative and opted for a number of cheaper, on-hand materiel options that present the secretary and different VIPs the wanted help and area for on-camera press engagements,” a Pentagon spokesperson mentioned in a written assertion.

The renovations have been first reported by CBS Information.

Earlier than getting into workplace, Hegseth was a media character who spent years showing on tv and podcasts. His workforce has since styled him round his years of army service, together with time within the Military and Nationwide Guard. Hegseth speaks typically about the necessity to restore America’s “warrior ethos” and publicly workout routines with troops and different cupboard members.

Pentagon staff are nonetheless tweaking the area, together with putting in new mirrors quickly. On Tuesday, framed images held on the room’s partitions depicted Hegseth talking in public or greeting visiting officers. In two of the images was John Ullyot, the secretary’s former chief spokesperson, who has since argued the Pentagon is in “full-blown meltdown” after a slate of prime officers have been fired final week.

These images have been eliminated Tuesday.