Brutal nickname Pentagon insiders use for Pete Hegseth's wife Jennifer Rauchet revealed
Employees
at the Pentagon
have reported given Jennifer Rauchet, the wife of Defense Secretary
Pete Hegseth
, a brutal nickname after frequently being seen with her husband while
he attempts to push
U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda. It was reported by the
Daily Mail
that several of her employees have taken to calling her "Yoko Ono" behind her back.
The name comes as Rauchet's frequent appearances at the Pentagon have
drawn criticism from several staffers
after the Wall Street Journal reported that she attended sensitive meetings, including one with his British counterpart, John Healey. It was also reported by two sources that
Rauchet attended a meeting between her husband
and his foreign counterparts at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
One person within the DoD told The Mail that Hegseth allegedly relies on Rauchet to prepare and supervise him, just like she did when they both worked at Fox News. The source also added that Rauchet's presence could help Hegseth's sobriety in check, as well as make sure his eyes don't wander.
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Both sources also confirmed that during the meetings, Rauchet was spotted taking notes and photos. It was also reported that on the days that she is not physically present in the agency, there is someone apprising her of her husband's schedule. According to one staffer, on at least one occasion, Rauchet has urged the Department of Defense's public relations team to include more about
his military service and family values
in news releases.
"I'm sure she's worried about his infidelity and drinking, but she's also involved in the shaping of his public image," one person said. "She's like his parole officer and PR agent all at once."
Another staffer likened her to Yoko Ono, the wife of the late Beatles singer John Lennon, who was known for being fiercely protective and controlling of the narrative around her husband. One staffer equated her to being a "human leash" for Hegseth.
The need to control the Defense Secretary's image is not something new. Hegseth's first marriage to Meredith Schwarz ended when she claimed that he had serially cheated on her with several others, including Samantha Deering, the woman he married soon after and with whom he had three children.
Deering ended her marriage with Hegseth when he hooked up with Rauchet, a producer on Fox & Friends, who was also married with three kids. Rauchet revealed that she was pregnant with Hegseth's child shortly after the then-anchor had been promoted to co-host.
Shortly after the birth of their daughter, Gwen, Hegseth was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman while attending a Republican women's conference in 2024. A
California
police report shows that his accuser was having champagne with co-workers when things got "fuzzy." The woman reported that she later somehow found herself in a room with Hegseth.
Despite saying that the entire encounter was consensual, Hegseth ended up paying the woman $5,000. Rather than fight her allegations in court. Rauchet was once again blasted to the forefront of people's minds this past week when it was revealed that she and Hegseth's brother had been part of a second Signal Group chat that received plans about an attack on the Houthies in Yemen.
Hegseth reportedly relayed information from Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who leads
U.S. Central Command
. According to NBC, the material sent by Kurilla allegedly contained details about when U.S. fighters would take off and when they would hit their targets.
Should the military information have fallen into the enemy's hands, it could have put the fighters and their pilots in considerable danger. Three U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges told the news outlet that Hegseth allegedly used his personal phone to send the information transmitted by Kurilla
to at least two group chats using the Signal app
.
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