A senior civilian Pentagon official has been placed on administrative leave after a hidden-camera video released by O’Keefe Media Group appeared to show him discussing efforts to oppose or delay policies implemented under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Brandon Newsom, who has served as director of business operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy for 16 years, is featured in the undercover recording published by O’Keefe Media Group. The organization said founder James O’Keefe interviewed while using a disguise.
According to O’Keefe Media Group, Newsom oversees business operations supporting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including human resources, information technology, security, facilities, records management and implementation of executive orders. The outlet noted that Newsom is not related to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
In the recording, Newsom appeared to discuss remaining in government service in hopes of reversing policies after a future change in administrations.
“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,” Newsom said in the video.
When asked about his ability to influence policy, Newsom responded that while he did not have direct authority to reverse decisions, he believed he had influence through his position.
“I don’t have the authority to do that, but I have the influence,” he said.
The recording also included comments about specific policies Newsom said he would like to see changed.
One involved the Pentagon’s monthly voluntary Christian faith service program, which includes prayer, Bible readings and sermons. Newsom said he believed religious services should recognize multiple faiths rather than focus on a single tradition.
Newsom also discussed Schedule Policy, a federal workforce classification affecting certain senior career employees in policy-related positions. He said he had been converted to the classification and argued it reduced his employment protections, per Trending Politics.
“Hopefully that’s the first thing that gets undone,” he said.
The video further showed Newsom discussing what he described as efforts by some government employees to slow implementation of administration policies.
“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 said in the recording.
O’Keefe Media Group reported that it sought comment from both Newsom and the Department of Defense before publishing the video.
Following its release, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced that the department had opened an investigation into the matter.
“The Department of the Navy takes the conduct shown in this video extremely seriously,” Cao said in a statement. “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.”
