A senior civilian official in the Department of the Navy has been placed on administrative leave after hidden-camera footage showed him criticizing President Donald Trump and suggesting that government employees could delay or eventually reverse the administration’s policies.
The video, recorded during a July 6 encounter and released July 22 by independent journalist James O’Keefe, features Brandon Newsom, director of business operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy.
Newsom described his position as overseeing corporate operations, including human resources, information technology and security.
In the footage, noted Blaze, Newsom said several administration policies conflicted with his personal beliefs but that he intended to remain in government so he could help overturn them in the future.
“I want to stay and stick it out, so that way, when the time comes, I can undo whatever’s been done,” he said.
Newsom expressed particular concern about the administration’s approach to monthly voluntary worship services.
“I don’t think there should be one specific prayer service,” he said, indicating that he would prefer services recognizing multiple faiths.
Newsom also criticized changes affecting federal employee schedules and workplace protections, saying the reforms had personally affected his status.
“I was converted to schedule policy, which means all of my protections as an employee have been stripped away. Hopefully that’s the first thing that gets undone.”
Although Newsom acknowledged that he did not have direct authority to change administration policy, he suggested that officials inside the federal bureaucracy could impede its implementation.
“There’s a lot of things that they tried to do at the very beginning … they’ve still not rolled out because you have certain folks in certain positions who can slow-roll things,” he said.
Newsom also referred to Trump as a “textbook narcissist” and described the conflict with Iran as “completely stupid” and “based on one man’s ego.”
After releasing the footage, O’Keefe commented on the encounter on social media.
“Why do the gays in DC spill all the beans to me each and every single time?” he asked.
The Pentagon referred questions about the incident to the Navy, which confirmed that Newsom had been removed from his duties while officials reviewed the matter.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said Wednesday evening that the department considered Newsom’s recorded statements inconsistent with the responsibilities of a federal employee.
“The Department of the Navy takes the conduct shown in this video extremely seriously. 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. Effective immediately, this individual has been placed on administrative leave while we determine next steps to ensure accountability and protect the integrity of our mission.”
The Navy has not announced whether Newsom could face additional disciplinary action.
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