Overview
- The Department of the Navy placed Brandon Newsom on administrative leave after a hidden-camera video released Wednesday showed him criticizing President Trump and saying he would “undo whatever’s been done” when political control changes.
- Newsom is the director of business operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and a 16-year Pentagon employee who oversees human resources, IT, security and related functions.
- In the recording Newsom called the Iran war “completely stupid” and Trump a “textbook narcissist,” and named two targets he would try to reverse — the Pentagon’s monthly voluntary Christian prayer service and the Trump-era personnel 'schedule policy' — while saying he had influence but not formal authority.
- The video was released by undercover journalist James O’Keefe, who says he posed as a date and used a disguise to record the encounter, a tactic that has prompted debate over editing, entrapment and the reliability of such stings.
- Acting Secretary Cao said the Navy is determining next steps, a move that follows other recent Pentagon personnel actions and leak inquiries and could prompt further reviews of internal dissent, information security and how career civilians engage with policy changes.