Weekend Fox News co-host turned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is reportedly under fire from his own command, with some insiders describing him as “crawling out of his skin,” after just eight months of leading the Pentagon.

“The defense secretary—who prefers the moniker ‘Secretary of War’—is being described by staffers as ‘manic,’ erupting into fits of rage and tumultuous tirades, the Daily Mail reported on Monday,” according to The Daily Beast. “They said Hegseth is becoming increasingly ‘obsessed’ with his own security and exhibits frenzied behavior, such as fidgeting and pacing during meetings.”

“‘There’s a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,’ an insider told the outlet.”

“That warrior personae, he’s spooked,” others said.

READ MORE: ‘Failure of Leadership’: Troubling Picture for GOP as Possible Shutdown Nears

“Dude is crawling out of his skin,” added yet another source.

Protection of Hegseth’s homes in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., is straining resources. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID), responsible for his protection, “has reportedly pulled agents away from criminal probes,” according to the Beast.

The Daily Beast reported that Hegseth’s “increasingly erratic demands” are manifesting in ways “that have played out in public,” including Tuesday’s upcoming mandatory in-person meeting of about 800 generals and admirals from across the globe, along with their support staffs. All are traveling to Quantico, Virginia, for what some have described as a “pep rally,” where Hegseth will share with them his concept of the “warrior ethos.”

At that meeting, the Defense Secretary is also expected to share “grooming standards” with the top brass, according to Politico:

“He will focus on these elements in his speech, said the officials, and outline a new vision for national security under the Trump administration that includes more emphasis on homeland security and the Western Hemisphere over far-flung conflicts.”

READ MORE: ‘Give Them a Taste’: GOP Rep Urges Trump Treat Democratic Leaders Like Zelenskyy

In a letter to the Defense Secretary, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a retired lieutenant colonel who was awarded a Purple Heart and served for more than two decades in the U.S. Armed Forces, blasted the meeting.

Senator Duckworth called it an “unprecedented concentration of senior military leadership in one location simply to hear you speak about standards and ethos at significant cost and with potentially serious security implications.”

“This includes both the personal security of all individuals assembling-and creating a rich target for any malign actor and national security, given that our adversaries will know that many of our most senior commanders from around the world are tied up together with some portion of the highest level of the civilian chain of command.”

“To our knowledge,” Duckworth added, “no Secretary of Defense in modern history has convened an in-person gathering of this scale, involving general and flag officer commanders worldwide, without a publicly stated agenda or declared crisis.”

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The American public generally blames the party in power during a federal government shutdown, and new polling finds that would be especially true should the Republicans fail to pass legislation to keep the lights on past midnight on Tuesday.

Nearly half the country (45%) will blame the GOP if no agreement can be reached in little more than 24 hours, a new Morning Consult poll released Monday finds, according to Politico. Republicans say they want a “clean” continuing resolution, but Democrats are demanding any bill to keep the government open must restore funds to protect health care that were stripped out by the GOP.

Less than one-third of all Americans (32%) would blame Democrats for a shutdown.

Worse for Republicans, that 13-point margin (45-32) grows to 17 points against the GOP when polling only independent voters.

READ MORE: ‘Give Them a Taste’: GOP Rep Urges Trump Treat Democratic Leaders Like Zelenskyy

And as Politico reported, “GOP voters are more likely to blame their own party than Democrats are,” for a shutdown. “Of the people surveyed, 33 percent of GOP voters would blame Republicans, and 22 percent of Democratic voters say they would blame Democrats.”

On Friday, Politico reported that the White House believes “that Democrats will be blamed for a shutdown and its ripple effects, which could include mass layoffs across the federal government.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday had blamed Democrats for what he called “unserious and ridiculous demands.”

“He read all the s– they’re asking for, and he said, ‘on second thought, go f– yourself,’” a White House official told Politico. But among what Democrats are asking is for “the GOP to extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were expanded by Congress in 2021 and are due to sunset at the end of the year.”

Meanwhile, Leader Schumer just announced, ahead of his meeting with the President, that he will propose a seven- to 10-day spending bill to keep the government operating so they can continue negotiations, according to Axios.

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Democrats are blasting President Trump.

“Back in 2013, Trump said it was the President’s job to negotiate and avoid a shutdown,” wrote U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). “I don’t say this often, but he was right. Now, Trump is running away from the health care crisis HE created and stonewalling bipartisan negotiations. Failure of leadership on every level.”

“What will you stop being able to afford if your premiums go up 75%?” asked U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA). “Groceries, rent, saving for your kids’ education? This is the calculation families across the country are making right now – but it’s completely avoidable if Republicans drop their cruel cuts to health care.”

“This is a Republican-run government,” noted U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). “They have the White House, the House, and the Senate. They’ve had plenty of months to put forward legislation where they could work with us to get this passed. They waited until the very last minute. Donald Trump set a meeting, canceled a meeting, reset a meeting. This is entirely on them.”

READ MORE: Shutdown Meltdown: Trump Hits Democrats With ‘Transgender for Everybody’ Charge

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U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) called for President Donald Trump and his senior administration officials to treat House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in the same manner they treated Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year when they appeared to gang up on and berate the Ukrainian president.

President Trump has not met with the Democratic leaders since he took office in January, and canceled a meeting with them slated for last week. They will be meeting in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon to discuss ways to avert a federal government shutdown at midnight on Tuesday.

Congressman Alford, a member of the far-right Republican Study Committee, told NewsNation on Monday, “let’s give them a little taste of what we gave Zelenskyy back in the spring.”

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President Trump has falsely claimed that Democrats are “threatening” to shut down the government “unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens.”

He, also wrongly, has claimed Democrats want to “force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”

Congressman Alford echoed some of those allegations in his Monday remarks.

“So, this is what they wanted, all this crazy spending, going back to the woke policies and giving illegal aliens health care. Trump said, ‘There’s no way, why should I meet with them?'” Alford said.

“I think, over the last couple of days, he’s rethought that. Let’s bring them into the Oval Office. Let’s give them a little taste of what we gave Zelenskyy back in the spring,” the Missouri Republican declared.

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“This is going to be live viewing, I believe, in the Oval Office,” Alford said, “like you’ve never seen before, maybe an hour long meeting, and the American people can see for themselves the ridiculous request and demands as the Democrats hold them hostage.”

Leader Jeffries on Monday told reporters, “We’re headed into the meeting [with Trump] to have a good faith negotiation about landing the plane in a way that avoids a government shutdown but does not continue the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people.”

Democrats are “using one of their few points of leverage to demand Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits,” PBS News reported. “Trump has shown little interest in entertaining Democrats’ demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting Monday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Republican president has said repeatedly he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week.”

Rep. Mark Alford on Trump’s meeting today with Democratic leaders: “Let’s bring them into the Oval Office, let’s give them a little taste of what we gave Zelenskyy back in the spring.” pic.twitter.com/mfYT5TXLjH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 29, 2025

READ MORE: Shutdown Meltdown: Trump Hits Democrats With ‘Transgender for Everybody’ Charge

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