A senior Pentagon official has been placed on administrative leave after being caught on undercover video badmouthing President Donald Trump and discussing his plan to “undo” the administration’s policies after the president leaves office.
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O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) targeted Brandon Newsom, who oversees corporate operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, as part of a series of hidden-camera investigations exposing the deep state.
With only a fake mustache as a disguise, undercover journalist James O’Keefe went on a “date” with Newsom at a restaurant, where he dished about how unelected bureaucrats in the military have purposefully undermined the Trump administration.
“I mean there’s a lot of things they tried to do in the very beginning that they’ve still not rolled out because you have certain people in certain positions who can slow roll things,” Newsom explained.
He told O’Keefe that he used to work for the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center and is no relation to Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.).
The first program policy Newsom said he would try to reverse after Trump leaves office is the Pentagon’s monthly voluntary Christian prayer worship service, readings from the Bible, and sermons from pastors.
He told O’Keefe that he didn’t think there should be just “one specific prayer service.”
Newsom has worked in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy for 16 years, where he manages human resources, information technology, security, facilities, records management, and implementation of executive orders, according to O’Keefe.
The second policy the official said he would work to reverse is the Trump administration’s federal workforce reform that moves senior career employees in policy-related roles into a new personnel category to give elected leaders more control over officials who help shape policy.
When asked whether he had the authority to reverse these policies, Newsom responded: “I don’t have the authority to do that, but I have the influence.”
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As the night wore on, Newsom opened up more, blasting Trump, whom he called a “narcissist,” and the Iran War, which he called “completely stupid.”
He also dished cryptically, “I’ve seen some things. In true D.C. nature, you don’t always reveal everything in D.C.”
Newsom told O’Keefe that his motivation for remaining in government through the Trump years despite his distaste for the administration, was so he could quickly undo the conservative changes when a new administration comes in.
“The way I look at it is … when the election changes … I want to stay and stick it out so that when the time comes, I can undo whatever’s been done,” he explained.
In a statement posted on social media late Wednesday, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced that Newsom has been placed on leave.
“The Department of the Navy takes the conduct shown in this video extremely seriously,” Cao posted on X.
“Such statements and apparent intent to leverage a position to undermine the policies and direction set by our elected leaders are inappropriate and incompatible with the standards expected of Department personnel,” Cao added.
“Effective immediately, this individual has been placed on administrative leave while we determine next steps to ensure accountability and protect the integrity of our mission.”
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