Social media gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a dressing-down on Wednesday after it was revealed he’d ordered that a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room be turned into a makeup studio.
Retrofitting the room cost several thousand dollars, according to CBS News, which noted the expenditure came at a time when Donald Trump’s administration is engaging in massive funding cuts.
Although the Defense Department confirmed the existence of the studio to HuffPost, its social media team attacked the CBS News story as “fake news” in an X post, claiming there was “no lighted mirror” in the studio, and that building it “didn’t cost thousands.”
The post also claimed the space was intended as a “green room,” and “not a makeup studio.”
Hegseth’s performance as defense secretary has been heavily criticized since he was confirmed, particularly after people outside the administration were included in Signal chats discussing plans for military strikes.
Not surprisingly, the news of the makeup studio inspired new levels of social media snark.