Pete Hegseth’s new policy to fill the Pentagon press corps with conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists to control media coverage has now reached peak MAGA.
Far-right activist and social media influencer Laura Loomer has reportedly been credentialed to cover the Department of Defense as part of its hand-picked press corps, The Washington Post reported.
Loomer, who has repeatedly expressed her unflinching loyalty to Donald Trump, has 1.8 million followers on X and hosts her own show, Loomer Unleashed, on Rumble.
She regularly covers the Pentagon on her social media, most recently agreeing with Defense Secretary Hegseth‘s comments in September about the fitness of military members. “He says being a fat soldier is ‘unacceptable’. He’s correct,” Loomer wrote.
The Daily Beast has contacted Loomer and the Pentagon for comment.
Loomer, 32, previously revealed the White House had not approved her request for media credentials. However, she has visited the White House several times at the personal invitation of President Donald Trump.
In October, Hegseth announced that any media outlets who refused to sign the Pentagon’s new press corps policy, which prevented them from reporting any information that hadn’t been approved for release, would have to turn in their credentials.
That led to an exodus from the Pentagon press corps by outlets including Fox News, CNN, and The Washington Post.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell claimed that over 60 “journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists” had signed the Pentagon’s new access policy.
Parnell defended filling the press corp with Trump-friendly influencers and reporters, some of whom have never regularly covered the Pentagon. “New media outlets and independent journalists have created the formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people,” Parnell claimed.
“Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.”
This year Loomer has dedicated herself to hunting out members of the Trump administration she believes are not loyal to Trump and campaigning for them to lose their jobs.
Her scalps in a process she called being “Loomered” included Assistant U.S Attorney Adam Schleifer, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, daughter of Trump nemesis James Comey.
Trump, 79, expressed his support for Loomer in August, with the conspiracy theorist understood to have a direct line to the president.
“I know she’s known as a ‘radical right,’ but I think Laura Loomer is a very nice person,” Trump said. “I think she’s a patriot, and she gets excited because of the fact she’s a patriot, and she doesn’t like things going on that she thinks are bad for the country. I like her.”
The new-look Pentagon press corps also includes another conspiracy theorist, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who runs LindellTV.
“From day one, our mission has been to challenge narratives, question power, and report what others won’t,” Lindell said after signing Hegseth’s new policy. “This new chapter reaffirms that commitment and expands our ability to bring vital coverage from the Pentagon straight to the American people—without censorship, without spin.”
Right-wing political commentator Tim Pool has also signed Hegseth’s new agreement, covering the Pentagon as host of Timcast.
“We aim to conduct podcast interviews whenever possible but do not intend to maintain a significant presence at the Pentagon or engage in in-depth investigative reporting, as specialized outlets do,” Pool wrote on X.
