As the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pushed through mass layoffs and demanded federal workers justify their positions, McLaurine Pinover, the agency’s chief spokesperson, was filming Instagram fashion videos in her government office.
In at least a dozen videos, Pinover modeled outfits while directing her followers to a website where she could earn commissions on clothing sales. This was happening while OPM, under her watch, was demanding federal officials identify barriers to swiftly firing “poor performing employees.”
One video, posted the same day OPM sent out a memo about firing employees, showed Pinover blowing a kiss to the camera with the caption “work look” and the hashtag #dcinfluencer. The video linked to a website where viewers could buy a $475 purple skirt she was wearing.
A watchdog group quickly flagged her actions as potentially illegal, saying she may have violated rules against using government property for personal gain. By promoting her side business during work hours in her government office, Pinover was using a website that paid her a commission for every piece of clothing she sold.
Former OPM staffers, many of whom were being laid off under the Trump administration’s push for efficiency, were outraged. “Your number one job as a leader is to protect and support your people,” said Jack Miller, who served as OPM’s communications director under President Biden. “So instead of fighting tooth and nail to keep your team, we’re posting fashion videos. It’s absurd.”
As reported by CNN, Pinover has consistently backed the Trump administration’s efforts to cut government jobs, including pushing for the layoff of probationary employees and offering buyouts to tens of thousands of others. When OPM sent an email last month asking federal employees to summarize their work, Pinover called it “a commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce.”
But her side hustle, which she didn’t even try to hide, took place on government property. After reporters questioned her about her Instagram account, Pinover quickly deleted it. She had about 800 followers on her account @getdressedwithmc. She posted videos using hashtags like #dcstyle and #dcinfluencer while playing hits like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Busy Woman” in the background. Her most recent post, just days before the inquiry, showed her typing at her office computer. Nowhere in the posts did she identify herself as a federal employee.
Three former OPM staffers confirmed that her videos were filmed inside the communications director’s office on the fifth floor of OPM’s Washington, DC headquarters. “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,” one staffer said.
On her Instagram, Pinover linked to her ShopMy account, a fashion website where she promoted the same clothes she wore in her videos. The site featured affiliate links, meaning Pinover could earn a commission on sales. Brands like Quince and Reformation, along with major retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, paid influencers commissions for referring customers through these links. It’s unclear how much Pinover earned or whether she made any money from these posts, but she deleted all content from her ShopMy page after the news broke out.
Federal regulations prohibit government employees from using public property “for other than authorized purposes,” with very limited exceptions for personal use, such as sending a personal email. Donald K. Sherman, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Pinover’s actions clearly violated these rules. “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.”
Some agencies require employees to seek approval before pursuing outside business activities for compensation, though it’s unclear whether this rule applies to OPM workers.
Videos filmed during work hours and in the government office made many OPM staffers furious, especially one video posted on February 13. That day, OPM reportedly held a call instructing federal agencies to lay off thousands of probationary workers. Around 20 members of Pinover’s own communications team were also told their jobs would be cut.
“To post that video the very day your entire team is getting laid off is ridiculous,” said Jack Miller, Pinover’s predecessor. “While her team is getting axed, she’s twirling around in her office,” added another former staffer.
Pinover also posted a video on February 28, the day OPM sent another email asking employees to summarize their work. This came as part of the administration’s effort to root out inefficient employees, a goal heavily backed by figures like Elon Musk.
Before joining OPM, Pinover worked as a senior director at a public affairs firm, deputy communications director for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and an assistant in the Executive Office of the President during Trump’s first term, according to CNN.
