‘Incredible!’ CNN Busts Trump DOGE Spox Making Influencer Vids at Gov Office Amid Job Cuts

CNN busted Trump Office of Personnel Management spokesperson McLaurine Pinover making fashion influencer videos at her government office — even as she defended massive DOGE job cuts.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been chainsawing federal government jobs in one of the most visible subplots of Trump’s first weeks in office.

But not all government employees are suffering — a new report from CNN’s Curt Devine, Casey Tolan, and Audrey Ash revealed that even as Pinover was defending DOGE’s actions, she was shooting fashion videos for Instagram in her OPM office.

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s OutFront, CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah stunned anchor Erin Burnett with details of Pinover’s activities — including the deletion of the videos within minutes of being reached for comment:

BURNETT: Breaking news: DOGE striking again. CNN learning the Education Department is expected to begin sweeping layoffs tonight. The goal, we understand, is to cut about half of the 4,100-person workforce. So 50 percent cut for the DOE.

It comes as a CNN investigation looks into a high ranking employee at the office of personnel and management, the agency that sent out the mass email asking federal workers to justify their jobs. That high ranking employee has been filming influencer videos that promote what she’s wearing on social media, from inside her government office.

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks just like any other influencer video, a young woman posing in front of a camera over and over and over again, showing off her trendy but timeless professional fashion.

But she’s no ordinary influencer, and that’s no ordinary office. Her name is McLaurine Pinover, and she’s a Trump administration’s new director of communications for the office of personnel management. Or OPM, which manages federal employees.

All of these videos were shot in her government office right here, at OPM headquarters in Washington, D.C., ground zero for Trump’s plan to cut thousands of workers from the federal government in the name of efficiency. Inside her office, Pinover captures video at her desk putting on makeup, modeling new outfits to her 800 followers. Pinover markets close on her account using what’s called affiliate

links. She could get a portion of any item sold through her Instagram page, like this $475 skirt or $300 dress. But it’s unclear whether she’s made any money.

On February 13th, the day 20 people on her communications team lost their jobs, she posted a moment for mixed patterns and the week when her agency demanded all federal employees list five things they did that week. She posted the businesswoman special.

As OPM spokeswoman, she defended the memo at the time as a commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce.

DONALD SHERMAN, CHIEF COUNSEL: I would be very curious if she included her efforts to promote her brand as part of the five things that she accomplished that week.

LAH: Donald Sherman, the chief counsel for an ethics watchdog group, says more than anything, this behavior is insulting to the thousands of federal employees being fired.

SHERMAN: This Trump administration appointee is violating the public trust at the same time as she seems to be instrumental in the administrations attack on civil servants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (on camera): And you just heard him there say she’s a Trump official. She has only been on the job since January with the new administration, and some of this does appear to have happened on the clock. We were actually looking at her account this morning, and she posted a couple of Instagram stories during normal business hours. You can also see the time on her watch and at least one of the videos she filmed, all during work hours.

Now, about 15 minutes after CNN reached out to her requesting comment, her Instagram account was deleted. She declined to comment officially to CNN. But we did get comment from former OPM workers who told us, quote, are you kidding me? That’s my office. Another called it absurd and ridiculous to post fashion videos as people are being laid off — Erin.

BURNETT: It’s incredible reporting.

Kyung Lah, thank you very much.

And now, Brian Barrett, executive editor at “Wired”, which has been leading in so much of the breaking news about Elon Musk and DOGE.

Brian, I mean, that story that Kyung was just sharing is just so incredible!

Watch above via CNN’s OutFront.