A Trump official working in the department that demanded federal employees email five accomplishments or be fired was posting fashion influencer content from her government office while thousands of people lost their jobs.
According to CNN, while federal workers were being laid off in widespread cuts, McLaurine Pinover, a spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management, was posting videos on Instagram about her outfits from the agency’s offices in Washington, D.C.
In one of the aspiring influencer’s posts on her now-defunct Instagram account, @getdressedwithmc, Pinover shared a link with her 800 followers where they could purchase her $475 purple midi-skirt.
Pinover reportedly kissed the camera in one video and captioned her post with “work look” and “#dcinfluencer.” CNN reported that the office sent a memo to federal employees on the same day, identifying barriers to quickly terminating underperforming employees.
Former office employees told the network that they were offended by the posts made on government property while the brutal cuts were taking place.
Pinover, who began working for the Trump administration in January, made no mention of her position in the Office of Personnel Management in her social media posts, according to the network. The Independent contacted the office for comment.
According to CNN, several videos were posted during working hours and filmed on the fifth floor of the Office of Personnel Management building, across the hall from where Department of Government Efficiency employees work.
Pinover’s name was also reportedly linked to a statement dated February 22 regarding Elon Musk’s email mandating federal employees submit five things they accomplished at work that week. She posted another video on February 28, when the office sent out the second email requesting employees to summarize their work achievements, according to CNN. DOGE founder Elon Musk was one of the driving forces behind the push.
“While her team is getting axed, she’s twirling around in her office,” said another former OPM employee.
According to Jack Miller, the former OPM communications director during the Biden administration, one of the most upsetting videos for staffers was shared on the same day that the office reportedly held a call with other agencies instructing them to fire thousands of probationary employees, including 20 people on Pinover’s team.
“To post that video the same day your entire team is laid off is ridiculous,” Miller told the outlet.
“I saw it, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me, that’s my office,'” a former communications staffer, who preferred to remain anonymous, told CNN. “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.”
CNN reported that some of Pinover’s links were “affiliate links” to clothing brands. Influencers may receive a commission when customers buy clothes through the link. CNN reported that it was “not clear” whether Pinover received a commission for the posts.
According to watchdogs, the posts may violate federal regulations because employees are not permitted to use public property “for other than authorized purposes.”
“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,” Donald K. Sherman, chief counsel for the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, told CNN.
