Pete Hegseth's wife plays his babysitter

[marmar]

Pete Hegseth wants women in the kitchen — but his wife as his top adviser
The defense secretary's third wife has a shocking amount of power

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published September 15, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) However much Donald Trump-style BS-ing he does around it, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can’t hide the dim view he takes of women’s worth outside of the home.

“Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units,” he wrote in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In the months since he’s been running the Defense Department, Hegseth’s apparent priority is pushing as many women out of leadership as possible — and often with the flimsiest of excuses that make it clear his disapproval stems from their gender, not their work.

During his Senate confirmation hearings in January, his ex-sister-in-law submitted an affidavit begging senators not to confirm him, claiming he’s a misogynist who abused his second wife. She wrote that she heard him “say that women should not have the right to vote and that they should not work.” Hegseth also, she said, made excuses for sexual assault, which he was accused of by a woman who attended a Republican women’s conference in California in 2017, where he spoke. (He settled out of court with the alleged victim in 2020.)

....(snip)....

This all makes it very surprising — and confounding — that Hegseth’s top adviser appears to be Jennifer Hegseth, his current wife and a former Fox News producer. Press coverage of this marital-work arrangement leans on euphemisms like “unorthodox” or that it “draws scrutiny,” but that underplays how frankly weird it is for the defense secretary to have his wife constantly at his side, managing his affairs and advising him on military matters, even though she is not on the Pentagon payroll and she has no experience with the military. Jennifer Hegseth was even part of last spring’s Signal scandal, which revealed she is looped in on top secret military meetings that are supposed to only be available to people with the highest level of security clearances.

The absurdity of her role only compounds the larger clown show that is her husband’s tenure at Defense. It’s bad enough that Trump appointed a wholly unqualified Fox News weekend host who is more worried about fighting phantom “woke” than protecting national security. That he relies on his wife for advice instead of experienced professionals — who he seems to view with loathing — only shows how terrifyingly bad Hegseth is at even the most basic of his job requirements. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/09/15/pete-hegseth-wants-women-in-the-kitchen-but-his-wife-as-his-top-adviser/