The Pentagon Secretly Put MAGA Social-Media Influencers — Retired Colonels With Hundreds of Thousands of Followers Who Spend Their Days Praising Defense Secretary Hegseth and Attacking the Reporters Who Scrutinize Him — on the Government Payroll as "Special Government Employees," in Undisclosed Roles With Official Email Addresses but No Stated Duties, and the Pentagon Won't Say What They Do or Whether Taxpayers Are Paying Them
According to a Washington Post investigation published August 30, 2026, the Pentagon has quietly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings into government positions — declining to disclose their assignments — where they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration. Among them: Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with roughly 130,000 followers on X; Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel and columnist with nearly 620,000 followers; and Thomas Anderson, a retired colonel who regularly defends Hegseth to his 320,000-plus followers. They were brought on as "special government employees" or "highly qualified experts," hold official Pentagon email addresses, and at least two report to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness — in roles that the Post reports could shape policy. Yet the Pentagon refused to tell the Post what these people actually do, how long their jobs last, or whether they are drawing a taxpayer-funded salary. In other words: the Defense Department appears to have put partisan influencers on the public payroll to run domestic political messaging for the Secretary and to go after his critics, and then declined to account for any of it. The military is supposed to serve the whole country and stay out of partisan politics. This turns a slice of it into Hegseth's personal PR and troll operation, paid for — as far as anyone outside will confirm — by the public it is aimed at.