Army rescinds Biden cyber official's job offer after Laura Loomer pressure
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Former CISA Director Jen Easterly testifying before Congress. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The U.S. Army rescinded a job offer to a top Biden administration cyber official at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after public criticism from far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Why it matters: Loomer, a prominent conspiracy theorist and self-appointed enforcer of loyalty to Trump, has a remarkable level of influence over hirings and firings inside Trump 2.0.
Driving the news: Earlier on Wednesday, West Point named Jen Easterly, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and a West Point graduate, as its new Distinguished Chair in the Department of Social Studies.
- Following the announcement, Loomer reacted to the news in an X post saying, "There are clearly a lot of Biden holdovers at DOD undermining the Trump admin."
- Loomer, who also tagged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the post, also noted that Easterly was leading CISA when the Department of Homeland Security stood up the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board. (CISA did not operate the board.)
- Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in an X post after Loomer's post that he had directed West Point to rescind Easterly's offer and to conduct a full review of the academy's hiring practices.
What they're saying: "Ahead of the upcoming academic year, we are crafting a deliberate approach to ensure that our future officers are best prepared to meet the demands of the modern battlefield," an Army spokesperson told Axios in a statement.
- Easterly and West Point did not respond to requests for comment.
The big picture: Loomer has taken credit for a series of high-profile firings besides Easterly, casting herself as an outside enforcer of loyalty to the MAGA mission.
- Multiple National Security Council staffers were fired in April after she visited the Oval Office in the midst of the Signalgate scandal, with Trump himself praising Loomer's "recommendations."
- Loomer also claimed credit for the firing of the National Security Agency's top two officials in April, as well as the agency's general counsel this week.
- FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad left the administration this week after coming under Loomer's crosshairs.
Go deeper: What to know about Laura Loomer, Trump's conspiracy theorist ally
