Hegseth Secretly Employed MAGA Influencers in Undisclosed Pentagon Roles, Washington Post Finds

The Washington Post reported on August 30, 2026 that the Pentagon had quietly employed several veteran influencers in undisclosed civilian roles under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pentagon records the Post reviewed showed Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with more than 135,000 X followers, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with nearly 620,000 followers, held government ".civ" email addresses and were assigned to the office overseeing Pentagon personnel policy. A third influencer, "Cynical Publius," with more than 323,000 followers, held a similar arrangement before leaving.

The men were hired as "highly qualified experts" or "special government employees," capped at 130 days of work per year, and did not disclose their government roles while promoting Hegseth online. The arrangement raises disclosure and ethics questions about using public payroll to fund influencers who amplify a cabinet official and attack administration critics without the roles being made public.

The Pentagon had not disclosed the full scope of the arrangements as of this writing, and it is unclear whether any remain active.