Laura Loomer joins Pentagon press corps despite Hegseth criticism

The Pentagon has credentialed right-wing activist Laura Loomer to cover President Trump’s Department of Defense.

Loomer announced the news in a social media post on Monday, boasting that her work has “had a massive impact on the landscape of personnel decisions within the Executive Branch, our intelligence agencies and the Pentagon.”

Loomer’s credentialing, which was first reported by The Washington Post, comes as the Pentagon has implemented sweeping changes to its media policies and worked to elevate more conservative and alternative media outlets covering the Trump administration.

A controversial figure with a history of attacking allies of the president, Loomer’s proximity to an influence over Trump has sparked backlash, including from some Republicans.

Loomer last month blasted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over an announcement that the U.S. would host a Qatari air force facility in Idaho, writing on social media at the time there is not “a single Trump supporter who supports allowing Qatar to have a military base on US soil.”

A number of news outlets, including The Hill, The New York Times and each of the major broadcast networks refused to sign a new policy the Pentagon rolled out for members of the press earlier this fall severely restricting access to the Pentagon and seeking to control information coming out of the department.