Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has quietly assembled an online army of MAGA influencers — including some who work for the Pentagon or have nearly landed jobs there, according to a new report.
It came to light this week that Jennica Pounds, a right-wing influencer better known as “Data Republican” on X, has worked as a temporary Pentagon special government employee since July. The Defense Department confirmed her employment but refused to explain what specific duties Pounds performs.
But Pounds appears to be only one member of a “Pentagon troll army” Hegseth is assembling, The Bulwark revealed Thursday.
“The defense secretary’s MAGA influencer allies aren’t merely cheering him on - some work for him,” The Bulwark’s Will Sommer told readers.
Sommer pointed to several other pro-Trump online personalities with connections to the Pentagon, including retired Col. Thomas R. Anderson, known online as “Cynical Publius,” as well as active-duty Army Lt. Col. Adam D. Ortona, another pro-Hegseth influencer.
Anderson has repeatedly promoted Hegseth’s agenda and stepped in recently to defend Pounds, saying she had “no obligation” to disclose her government role, The Bulwark reported. The Pentagon did not respond to questions about whether Anderson also works for it.
Meanwhile, Ortona has attacked Democrats and vowed to help Hegseth battle the bureaucracy inside the Pentagon, the report said.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) called the revelations the “scandal of the century.”
“How many more people that are blue checkmarks on X, that are putting out information on behalf of the federal government and Donald Trump and the Republican party . . . are actually special government employees being paid by your tax dollars?” Kinzinger asked in a social media video.