Trump Staffer Posts Fashion Influencer Videos at Work While Defending DOGE's Mass Layoffs: 'A Moment for Mixed Patterns'

A federal employee tasked with defending the Trump administration's mass government layoffs has been using her office to film fashion influencer videos, according to a new report from CNN.

McLaurine Pinover — head of communications for the Office of Personnel Management, which acts as the government's human resources agency — posted more than a dozen fashion-related videos to her now-deleted Instagram account, @getdressedithmc.

The account garnered about 800 followers and featured hashtags like #dcstyle and #dcinfluencer. The videos, filmed in her government office, directed viewers to "affiliate links" for the items she modeled, which allows people to earn commission on sales.

“A moment for mixed patterns,” she wrote in one caption for a post set to the sound of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All The Stars.”

In another, she wrote, “The business woman special.”

On the day that the OPM sent out a government-wide memo urging agencies to identify barriers to quickly firing "poor performing employees," Pinover posted a video of herself blowing a kiss to the camera while modeling a $475 purple skirt in her office, captioning it "work look" and sharing a link to buy the outfit.

A former OPM communications staffer who asked to remain anonymous expressed their frustration about the influencer posts to CNN, saying, “She’s the spokesperson for the agency that is advocating for the firing based on performance and efficiency of the rest of the government workforce, and she’s using government property as a backdrop for her videos.”

Pinover’s Instagram linked out to her account on ShopMy, a website used by influencers to promote the sale of clothing items. Brands like Quince and Reformation pay commissions to ShopMy users who send shoppers to affiliate links. The government official has since deleted all the content on her ShopMy page.

Pinover shared a statement to PEOPLE about the CNN report, saying, "While I was battling breast cancer as a new mom, I felt so unlike myself. Shortly after, I turned to social media as a personal outlet."

She stated that she "never made any income" from the videos and would not have expected her little-known account to make news, adding, "My focus remains on serving the American people at OPM."

Criticism toward Pinover comes as DOGE moves to gut the federal workforce in a stated attempt to reduce overspending. A new report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that 10,000 federal government jobs were lost in February alone.

On Jan. 21, DOGE leader Elon Musk wrote on X: "Pretending to work while taking money from taxpayers is no longer acceptable."

A month later, federal workers received an email from OPM instructing them to list five things they accomplished the week prior. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," Musk explained on X on Feb. 22.

At the time, Pinover publicly defended the OPM email as an example of the Trump administration's "commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce."

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“I would be very curious if she included her efforts to promote her brand as part of the five things she accomplished that week,” Donald Sherman, chief counsel for the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CNN.

He added: “This Trump administration appointee is violating the public trust. At the same time, she seems to be instrumental in the administration’s attack on civil servants.” 

According to Pinover's since-deleted LinkedIn page, she previously worked as a senior director at a public affairs firm and as deputy communications director for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. During Trump’s first term, she served as an assistant in the Executive Office of the President.