Hegseth Hired MAGA Influencers for Undisclosed Pentagon Roles

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters Pete Hegseth has hired a team of MAGA influencers who routinely support the defense secretary online for secret roles within the Pentagon, according to a report.

The Washington Post found that several former military personnel turned online conservative mouthpieces have been given government roles that the Pentagon has not publicly disclosed.

They include Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with more than 130,000 followers on X; Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with more than 620,000 followers; and Thomas Anderson, a retired colonel who regularly defends the embattled Hegseth to his 323,000 X followers under the online moniker “CynicalPublius.” All three were given active official government email addresses with the “.civ” suffix, meaning they were considered civilian employees rather than military personnel or contractors.

Because they were given civilian roles, the MAGA influencers could even change government policy, even as the Pentagon has not officially revealed what their roles are, sources told the Post.

All three men were assigned to work for the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

Tata, an anti-Islam conspiracy theorist who falsely labeled former President Barack Obama a secret Muslim and a “terrorist leader,” is alleged to have cheated on his wife with a woman claiming to be “the internet’s most notorious astrologer.” The Pentagon did not comment on whether the MAGA influencers were being paid a taxpayer-funded salary when the Post approached it.

Hegseth’s MAGA influencers were hired as “highly qualified experts” or “special government employees.” Under the law, SGEs are forbidden from working more than 130 days over a 365-day period.

While their specific roles are unclear, each influencer routinely supports Hegseth and President Donald Trump online or attacks those who criticize them.

Maness wrote an article for the conservative news site Daily Caller last month demanding that Hegseth root out “disloyal” government employees who have “plagued the Pentagon and the broader federal bureaucracy for years.” Schlichter also posted that “we are lucky” to have Hegseth while sharing a video of the defense secretary praising sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln .

Those aboard the aircraft carrier have complained of dire working conditions and even feeling suicidal after spending several months deployed at sea.

As noted by The Bulwark , which first reported on how Hegseth is building a “Pentagon Troll Army,” several of the MAGA influencers rushed to defend another conservative mouthpiece after she was revealed to be a special government employee.

Jennica Pounds, also known as “DataRepublican” on X, falsely accused Sarah B.