<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/elon-musk-email-sent-to-millions-of-federal-workers-leaked/22613466-ee67-474a-8512-94baadee2835" rel="" target="_blank" title="As the Office of Personnel Management"><span>As the Office of Personnel Management</span></a><span> oversaw the layoffs of thousands of federal workers and pressed others to justify their positions, the agency's chief spokesperson repeatedly used her office for a side hustle: aspiring Instagram fashion influencer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In at least a dozen videos filmed in her OPM office, political appointee McLaurine Pinover modelled her outfit choices for the day, while directing followers from her Instagram account to a website that could earn her commissions on clothing sales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On the same day OPM sent a government-wide memo pressing federal officials to identify barriers they faced in their work to "swiftly terminate poor performing employees", Pinover posted a video blowing a kiss to the camera with the caption "work look" and the hashtag #dcinfluencer.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/donald-trump-rules-out-tariff-exemption-australian-steel-and-aluminium/2b339ef2-d341-475d-ad11-f62fb6f08dec" target="_blank"><strong><span>Major blow to Australia after Trump rules out tariff exemption</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her Instagram account linked to a site where viewers could buy the $US475 ($754) purple skirt she wore in the video.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One watchdog group said her videos could run afoul of rules restricting the use of government property for personal benefit because, while in the workplace, she was using a website that pays content creators commissions from the clothing brands they promote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former OPM staffers during the Biden administration also told CNN that they were offended by Pinover posting as a fashion influencer on government property while defending mass layoffs of federal workers – at a time when top </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="Trump"><span>Trump</span></a><span> administration officials have accused career employees of being lazy and wasteful.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/mclaurine-pinover-trump-official-tasked-with-defending-doge-cuts-filmed-fashion-videos-from-her-office/799b55d9-d519-4ef8-81ce-d87f1f214aa9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/ukraine-russia-war-ukraine-accepts-us-proposal-for-30-day-ceasefire/bd2558cc-4714-487d-add2-93313db04f94" target="_blank"><strong><span>Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire proposed by US</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Your number one job as a leader is to protect and support your people," said Jack Miller, who preceded Pinover as the politically appointed OPM communications director under former president Joe Biden.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So instead of fighting tooth and nail to keep your team, we're posting fashion videos. It's absurd."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pinover, who started her job at the federal government's human resources agency in January, has issued numerous statements backing the Trump administration's moves to lay off probationary employees and offer buyouts to tens of thousands of others.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/elon-musk-email-trump-administration-reportedly-backtracks-federal-workers-can-ignore/30885e9e-6d54-46d9-8314-2f4e6866fe1f" rel="" target="_blank" title="When OPM sent federal employees an email last month"><span>When OPM sent federal employees an email last month</span></a><span> asking them to list five bullet points of things they had done in the past week, Pinover described it as "a commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pinover did not respond to a list of questions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she deleted her Instagram account, @getdressedwithmc, minutes after CNN asked about it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Instagram, where she had about 800 followers, Pinover's posts were adorned with hashtags like #dcstyle and #dcinfluencer, and soundtracked with hits like Sabrina Carpenter's </span><em><span>Busy Woman.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had posted as recently as yesterday, when she uploaded a video showing herself typing on her office computer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her account did not identify her as a federal employee.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The videos were filmed inside the office of the OPM communications director on the fifth floor of the agency's Washington, DC, headquarters, according to three former OPM staffers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The office is across the hall from a secure annex that has become a hub for workers at the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting effort pushed by Trump ally Elon Musk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I saw it, and I was like, 'Are you kidding me, that's my office,'" a former OPM communications staffer, who asked not to be named out of concern for retaliation, told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/11/12/09/47/us-election-all-the-people-donald-trump-second-administration-in-photos"><img alt="Dan Bongino " sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/19lS5hw3eRGgmoLRU8gN5laEZJ0=/0x33:1024x609/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F175c1d10-4387-41bf-885d-a9518a51e50f" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/19lS5hw3eRGgmoLRU8gN5laEZJ0=/0x33:1024x609/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F175c1d10-4387-41bf-885d-a9518a51e50f 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/V0fgQgEnWTCHIYcDK3owLx8-n3M=/0x33:1024x609/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F175c1d10-4387-41bf-885d-a9518a51e50f 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Conservative podcast host named as FBI deputy director under Trump</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/11/12/09/47/us-election-all-the-people-donald-trump-second-administration-in-photos">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pinover's Instagram page linked to her account on the fashion website ShopMy, which featured links for viewers to buy the same pieces of clothing Pinover wore in her videos.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At least some of the links on Pinover's ShopMy page were "affiliate links" for clothing brands like Quince and Reformation, as well as retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's – a technique used by social media influencers to receive payments from companies whose products they promote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brands pay commissions to ShopMy users who send them customers through affiliate links, according to the </span><a href="https://shopmy.us/home/creators/affiliates"><span>website</span></a><span>, with the influencers sometimes receiving about 15 per cent of the sales price.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/nervous-and-rushed-massive-fukushima-plant-cleanup-exposes-workers-to-high-radiation-and-stress/cf4b39a1-d5e5-4153-a31d-b00e3ab93391" target="_blank"><strong><span>Workers cleaning up Fukushima nuclear plant reveal toll</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not clear what commission rate Pinover could have earned or whether she received any money through the links.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pinover also deleted all the content on her ShopMy page on Tuesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to federal </span><a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-XVI/subchapter-B/part-2635/subpart-G"><span>regulations</span></a><span>, government employees must not use public property "for other than authorised purposes," with exceptions for "de minimis personal use," such as sending a personal email from a government account.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Donald K. Sherman, the chief counsel for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Pinover's posts appeared to violate rules prohibiting the use of government resources for private gain, and would not be considered "de minimis."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The rules don't "give cover to a federal employee using government resources to subsidise their private business," Sherman said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is highly problematic that while dedicated civil servants who want to work for the government are being fired for all manner of dubious reasons, or are being forced out by this administration, that someone at the agency leading that attack on the civil service is using their government job for private gain."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said Pinover's potential rule violations were small potatoes compared to other ethical questions surrounding the role of DOGE and Musk in the Trump administration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because Pinover didn't reference her OPM position in her online posts, "she does not appear to be attempting to trade on the prestige of government office," Clark noted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some federal agencies also </span><a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2009-title5-vol3/xml/CFR-2009-title5-vol3-sec3801-106.xml"><span>have</span></a><span> regulations that say certain employees need to get approval before pursuing a "business relationship or activity involving the provision of personal services by the employee for direct, indirect, or deferred compensation," although it's unclear if a similar rule covers OPM workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/new-south-wales-news-woman-and-dog-attacked-unleashed-dogs-maitland/3af0fb85-a807-4cb2-8608-ed69af25f4e1" target="_blank"><strong><span>Olivia's pup Enzo was 'brutally' mauled by two off-leash dogs. She was also injured</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several of the Instagram videos from Pinover's office were posted during business hours, according to a review of code embedded in the social media website, and most appear to have been filmed during the daytime.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former OPM staffers say they were particularly offended by one video Pinover posted on February 13.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That was the day that OPM reportedly held a call with other federal agencies directing them to lay off thousands of probationary employees – and when about 20 people on Pinover's team were told their jobs would be cut, according to Miller, her predecessor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The agency's communications team "worked their butts off to support other agencies and the workforce," Miller said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To post that video the very day your entire team is getting laid off is ridiculous."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"While her team is getting axed, she's twirling around in her office," added the other former staffer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pinover also posted a video on February 28, the day that OPM </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/us/politics/federal-workers-email.html"><span>sent out</span></a><span> a second government-wide email asking federal employees to summarise their work.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Administration officials like Musk have described those emails as part of a broader effort to root out employees who were not using their time efficiently.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Pretending to work while taking money from taxpayers is no longer acceptable," Musk </span><a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1881714960524529890" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>posted</span></a><span> on his social media network, X, in January.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before Pinover joined OPM at the beginning of Trump's second term, she worked as a senior director at a public affairs firm, and was a deputy communications director for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, according to her LinkedIn page.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also worked as an assistant in the Executive Office of the President during Trump's first term.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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