The Daily Populous Monday May 4th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by the-independent.com and submitted by B-Z_B-S

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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.

open image in gallery Pete Hegseth has now brought his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, to meetings with Pentagon employees, according to a report. The move comes after Hgeseth has forced the ouster of several leaders in the Department of Defense ( Getty Images )

Hegseth has also filled his inner circle with his brother, Phil, who was appointed as senior advisor and attorney Tim Parlatore who has represented both Hegseth and Trump, according to the report.

The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon about the culture at the Department of Defense.

The change comes after Hegseth has worked to remake the nation’s war-fighting machine into his agenda of “warrior ethos.” That has resulted in the firing or forced retirement of 24 generals and senior commanders, according to the report.

About 60 percent of those forced out have been Black or female, as the Trump administration has fought against diversity, equity and inclusion.

One recently removed leader was Navy Secretary John Phelan. It was reported that he butted heads with Hegseth over complying with a federal judge’s order regarding Mark Kelly and seemingly retribution for the “illegal orders” video.

“Hegseth wanted Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, brought back onto active duty and stripped of his rank,” Jennifer Griffin, Fox News’ Pentagon correspondent, reported last month.

Hegseth has shown little regret with removing the leaders with little or no reason. In fact, at his recent Congressional testimony, he was asked about the changes.

“Members on this committee and the previous leadership of this department were focused on height, social engineering, race and gender in ways that we think were unhealthy,” Hegseth told lawmakers.

The day-to-day running of the department has fallen to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, according to the report. He is the billionaire owner of an investment firm now responsible for the roughly three million military and civilian employees.

open image in gallery Hegseth has fired or forced the retirement of 24 generals and senior commanders, according to the report. About 60 percent of those removed have been Black or female ( Getty Images )

Hegseth has instead taken on issues that are of personal interest, including changing up the chaplain services, according to The Guardian.

Experts have sounded the alarm over the Pentagon changes and some said they have mirrored the agenda of Project 2025, the conservative playbook drawn up ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.

“It talked about an officer purge and going after the so-called woke officers at the senior level,” Paul Eaton, a retired army major-general, told the Guardian.

“They want to create ideologically pure armed forces that will be pliant to the president and his secretary of defense and whose oath will be more to a person than to the constitution.”

He added: “You develop a fracture in the cohesion of the people at that level. It is if you haven’t been purged, you wonder if you are next if you say the wrong thing to the man or woman on your left or right that may invoke the wrath of the secretary of defense or the president.”

Former Army colonel Kevin Carroll worked in the offices of the defense secretary and also spoke of the seemingly tension in the Pentagon.

“There was tension between the office of the secretary of defense and the joint chiefs of staff when I served on the joint staff in 2002 and 2003 because of disagreements about Iraq over whether and how we should go to war,” Carroll told The Guardian. “But it was all very professional and civil. This is just disarray. It’s crazy.”

guttanzer on May 4th, 2026 at 00:55 UTC »

Does she even have a clearance? Where is the need to know? SCI cleared? Billets assigned?

This is so eff’d up it’s mind blowing.

Tokie-Dokie on May 4th, 2026 at 00:37 UTC »

A step up from having his mommy hold his hand, I guess.

Soft_Equipment_2787 on May 4th, 2026 at 00:36 UTC »

She is probably worried he will meet his 5th wife at work.

I mean she was the mistress when he was married to his 3rd wife.