Trump Agenda Undermined? Tape Says More

man in suit stepping out of a vehicle — Photo: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock

A senior Department of the Navy advisor bragged on hidden camera about undoing President Trump’s agenda from the inside — and now he’s out of a job.

Quick Take

James O’Keefe’s hidden-camera video shows a senior Pentagon advisor, identified as Brandon Newsom, criticizing President Trump and the Defense Department’s direction under Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao called the remarks “inappropriate and incompatible” with department standards and ordered immediate administrative leave.
The advisor is reportedly no longer employed at the Department of the Navy.
This marks the latest in a string of high-profile Pentagon staff departures since President Trump took office.
O’Keefe Media Group says it stands by the footage and has filed legal motions defending its reporting.

Hidden Camera Catches Pentagon Advisor Off Guard

James O’Keefe released undercover video this week showing a senior Pentagon advisor talking openly about working against President Trump’s policies from inside the building. The video reportedly identifies the advisor as Brandon Newsom, who allegedly discussed plans with retired generals to protect programs from Trump-era changes.

O’Keefe Media Group described the footage as a conversation exploring “what we can do to protect people from Trump,” a phrase that quickly spread across conservative social media. The clip struck a nerve with Trump supporters who have long suspected entrenched bureaucrats work to slow-walk or block the administration’s agenda from within federal agencies.

Navy Leadership Moves Fast, Advisor Now Gone

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao did not mince words after the video surfaced. He called the advisor’s conduct “extremely serious” and said the statements, along with an apparent intent to use his position to undermine elected leaders, were “inappropriate and incompatible with the standards expected of Department personnel”. Cao placed the advisor on administrative leave “effective immediately.”

Reports now indicate the advisor is no longer employed at the Department of the Navy at all. For conservatives who’ve watched career bureaucrats resist President Trump’s reforms since day one, this looks like accountability finally catching up with someone who thought he could talk trash behind closed doors and keep his taxpayer-funded paycheck.

Part of a Larger Pattern of Pentagon Turnover

This isn’t the first shake-up inside Secretary Hegseth’s Pentagon. Senior advisor Dan Caldwell was removed and later fired earlier in 2025 amid a separate investigation into leaks of sensitive information. Deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick was also placed on leave in that same probe, and advisor Justin Fulcher departed months later, marking at least the sixth high-profile exit from Hegseth’s inner circle within his first six months.

Those earlier departures involved leak allegations, not political remarks. But together with this latest incident, they paint a picture of a Pentagon still working to root out staff whose loyalties or conduct don’t match the administration’s mission. Conservatives argue that’s exactly the kind of house-cleaning needed after years of bureaucratic resistance to elected leadership.

Questions Remain, But the Core Facts Are Not in Dispute

Skeptics note the public record doesn’t yet include a full, unedited transcript of the video, and the Navy hasn’t detailed which specific rule the advisor allegedly broke. Those are fair points worth watching as the story develops. But the advisor’s own recorded words, his removal from leave to no longer being employed, and the Acting Secretary’s on-record statement are not in dispute.

Another Blaze report noted the advisor had vowed to help “undo” progress made under President Trump, a claim that “doesn’t go well” once the footage went public. O’Keefe Media Group has stood firmly behind its reporting and has already filed an anti-SLAPP motion to defend the release against any legal pushback.

Pentagon Advisor Caught on Hidden Camera Saying He Can 'Undo' Trump's Agenda — Placed on Leave Within Hours https://t.co/lIdM8DS4Bg

— Stanley E Cook (@StanleyECook) July 24, 2026

For conservative voters who elected President Trump to shrink the administrative state and demand loyalty to the Constitution over personal politics, this case is a reminder that the fight against entrenched bureaucracy didn’t end on Inauguration Day. It’s still happening, office by office, inside agencies most Americans never think about until a hidden camera catches the truth.