Jen Easterly, a former Biden-era cybersecurity official, said the Trump administration’s decision to rescind her appointment to a prestigious position at West Point was motivated by “weaponized” outrage and warned partisanship would erode trust in the military.
Easterly, an Army veteran who served in the Bush II, Obama, and Biden administrations, was briefly appointed to serve as distinguished chair of the Social Sciences Department at West Point.
But in a matter of days, her appointment was nullified after Laura Loomer, a far-right advocate and ally to President Donald Trump, raised complaints about her affiliation with the former president.
In a LinkedIn blog post made on Thursday, Easterly said her opportunity to serve at West Point was rescinded due to “casually manufactured outrage that drowned out the quiet labor of truth and the steady pulse of integrity.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced that he had directed the military academy to rescind its employment offer to Easterly and said non-government groups would no longer be permitted to select employees at the school.
That decision arrived after Loomer tagged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an X post, criticizing Easterly because she allegedly “worked to silence Trump supporters.”
“Why are Biden holdovers who worked to silence Trump supporters under Biden getting elevated to high level jobs under the Trump admin?” Loomer wrote. “There are some serious moles over at DOD.”
Easterly reiterated that she was a “lifelong independent” who had served in government under Republican and Democratic administrations
She also pushed back on Loomer’s comments, warning that “weaponsized” outrage based on partisanship undermines trust in the military.
“When outrage is weaponized and truth discarded, it tears at the fabric of unity and undermines the very ethos that draws brave young men and women to serve and sacrifice: Duty, Honor, Country,” Easterly wrote. “We must guard against the corrosive force of division—and stand firm in defense of these values that should bind us together.”
Though she’s not an official member of the administration, Loomer has taken it upon herself to “vet” members of the Trump administration and publicly target those whom she believes are disloyal to the president.
Multiple staffers and officials have been fired or left as a result of Loomer using her platform to claim they are unfit to serve under Trump. Earlier this month, Hegseth refused to promote a senior Army officer because he had too close a relationship with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Trump dislikes.
