Pentagon covertly puts conservative military influencers into US government positions - report

Retired military officers who command large audiences on social media have been placed in Pentagon positions, according to a Washington Post report based on anonymous sources and corroborating material.

The officers were assigned as special government employees or highly qualified experts. The arrangements allow highly qualified experts to work part-time or full-time without compensation limits, while special government employees can work up to 130 days a year.

The report said the influencers had pushed back against criticism of the Trump administration while advancing the positions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pentagon records reviewed by the newspaper showed that retired officers Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter and Thomas Anderson had active government email addresses with a “.civ” suffix, indicating civilian rather than military employment.

Their online reach is substantial. Schlichter has more than 620,000 followers on X/Twitter, Maness has more than 135,000, and Anderson, an attorney who writes under the name Cynical Publius, retains more than 323,000 followers. The report said several of the veterans held positions powerful enough to potentially influence policy changes.

The officers were employed in the office of Anthony Tata, the under secretary for Personnel and Readiness. That office had been tasked with issues central to conservative politics, including “woke” college ideology and COVID-19 vaccine policies for US soldiers under former President Joe Biden. Anderson and Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez declined to comment, while Maness and Schlichter did not respond to requests for comment.