Pete Hegseth allegedly fears for his safety in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, with Pentagon insiders exclusively telling Daily Mail he's so rattled he looks to be 'crawling out of his skin.'

Two insiders in the defense secretary's newly named Department of War, one who works directly with his office and the other indirectly, say their boss has in the last few weeks been erupting in tirades, raging at staffers and obsessing about matters related to his security.

'There's a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,' one insider told us, describing Hegseth as visibly distracted, fidgeting and even standing up and pacing during meetings.

'Dude is crawling out of his skin,' said the other.

Both sources spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing for their jobs at a time when they say Hegseth has been firing Pentagon officials for speaking to journalists and other watchdogs, including congressional staffers.

His department has recently threatened to yank media credentials from journalists who refuse to sign pledges that they will only publish information that it sanctions for public release.

Both sources told us they feel an extra duty in recent months to temper a series of abrupt decisions in the department, the latest of which being Hegseth's order that hundreds of top military brass fly to Virginia next week for a rare mass meeting about which they've not been told the subject.

The mysterious gathering has caused unease among the top ranks, leaving officers likening it to the dystopian TV show Squid Game and fearing for their jobs. The Pentagon did nothing to clear up the confusion on Thursday but on Friday the Washington Post reported that Hegseth plans to lecture generals in person about embracing more of a 'warrior ethos' — a dedication not just to fighting wars, but winning them, with an emphasis on lethality.

Acting Deputy Press Secretary Joel Valdez did, however, respond to our inquiry about Hegseth's mental state, writing in an email laden with personal insults that, 'Your entire story is completely false.'

As our sources tell us, Hegseth insisted on pushing through the Department of Defense's name change to the Department of War months earlier than his staff was ready, berating those who tried to delay the announcement.

They also say he has had tirades in response to legal advisors' and congressional members' suggestions that the military's recent killings of alleged Venezuelan narcotraffickers on boats in the Caribbean broke international law.

The insiders told us he also has lashed out against Pentagon staffers who have urged him to be more consistent when discussing the military's potential involvement in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and domestically in public.

'He takes things personally when challenged - like full-blown tantrums,' one of our sources said.

The other said Hegseth has seemed especially anxious since the assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10. 

Although acknowledging that a certain level of fear is understandable for any high-profile figure at this time of political violence, that insider described the secretary as 'paranoid' and 'panicked' about his safety despite being one of the most closely protected cabinet members.

The source also said Hegseth's safety fears are being stoked by his wife, Jennifer, whose recent demands for added security for him, their family and their homes apparently go far beyond measures taken to protect any other Trump administration officials.

Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, a Fox News alumnus like her husband, found herself under scrutiny last spring when it was revealed that she was looped in on group messages about sensitive military details of a US strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen before it started in March.

As the Daily Mail reported soon after, Pentagon staff nicknamed her 'Yoko Ono' for her attendance at Pentagon meetings and outsized involvement in her husband's job overseeing the nearly three million-strong United States military.

Although our sources say she has stepped back from overt participation in his work, they note she has stayed closely involved, quietly advising Pentagon staff on ways to instill a more conservative, Christian and anti-woke culture in the military and shaping a narrative around her husband as the embodiment of those values.

That, one of the insiders told us, is largely why the assassination of Kirk, a like-minded Christian conservative, 'struck such a nerve' for them both.

'She fears Pete's a target,' one of the insiders said of Jennifer.

As for Hegseth himself, they described him as 'rattled.'

'That warrior personae, he's spooked.'