Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was raked over the coals on Monday morning over a report that his Pentagon has installed several so-called "influencers" with large online followings in government roles to prop up his faltering reputation.
According to the Washington Post, “The individuals are assigned as either ‘special government employees’ or ‘highly qualified experts,’” and questions are being raised about how much they are being paid.
During an appearance on MS NOW on Monday morning, combat veteran and former Senate candidate Amy McGrath laid into President Donald Trump’s embattled Cabinet member.
“Well, first of all, how weak and insecure do you have to be as a Secretary of Defense to bring in right-wing influencers into the Pentagon to serve as your personal cheerleaders?” she asked host Alicia Menendez.
“These are folks who the American people deserve to know why they're there. What's their role? What are their duties?” the former Marine pilot continued. “To have active-duty military members post things like this, this is just a breach of what an apolitical military does.”
“And then veterans coming in? Okay, that's fine, except the American people need to know that their taxpayer dollars are going to these social media influencers,” she added before exclaiming, “What are we doing here?”