reSee.it Video Transcript AI Summary
James O’Keefe, with a disguised undercover setup, speaks with Brandon Newsom, a business operations official at the Office of the Secretary of the Navy in the Pentagon. Newsom says he oversees corporate operations including HR, IT, security, and implementation of executive orders from president Trump regarding the US Navy. O’Keefe reports meeting Newsom at a bar in Washington, DC, while sports coverage played on TV.
Newsom tells O’Keefe he is staying in his position so he can “undo” Trump administration policies after Trump leaves office. He says there are people in positions who can “slow roll” initiatives and that implementing Trump executive orders challenges his morals, but he prefers holding his role until he can reverse what has been done. When asked whether he has the authority to undo changes, Newsom says he does not have the authority, but he has “influence.” O’Keefe frames this as potential informal power to undermine or reverse policies.
O’Keefe’s transcript includes discussion of long-term civil servants versus political appointees, referencing James Madison’s Federalist 37 about stability in government. The narrator contrasts that stability argument with hidden-camera claims of hostility toward the administration among some officials with security clearances, describing hints they intend to sabotage or undermine a duly elected administration.
Newsom discusses what he would undo. He says there should not be any “once specific prayer service,” despite identifying as Christian. He says he would either remove the prayer service after Trump leaves office or implement a prayer service for all religions recognized rather than only Christianity. The transcript claims the Pentagon Memorial Chapel is a 24-hour interfaith space, and that Pete Hegseth said in May 2025 the prayer service would be intended monthly on a volunteer basis in the chapel. It also says critics argue that Hegseth’s sponsorship through the official Pentagon menu risks turning it into a government endorsement, and that employees can already establish their own prayer services.
Newsom also raises “schedule policy,” described as an executive order implementing career classification changes that move career policy-influencing jobs into the excepted service. The transcript states the order reclassifies approximately 8,000 career civil servants, largely at or above GS-15, removing competitive service protections and making it easier to fire employees deemed unaligned with Trump priorities. The White House rationale is quoted as making removal for misconduct or poor performance essential to protect “democratic self government.” Unions and critics are described as saying it makes officials easier to fire for political reasons, and Reuters is cited as reporting unions sued over the policy. Newsom says he has been “converted to schedule policy,” meaning he believes protections have been removed.
The conversation shifts to DOGE and contracting. Newsom claims many terminated Pentagon contracts were data-related, after which a “much larger data contract” was awarded to Palantir. He suggests this was by design because Palantir has been donating to Pentagon senior folks. The transcript states that O’Keefe’s team was unable to confirm direct donations as Newsom claims, but says Palantir acquired the largest overhaul of data-related contracts for the US Army on 07/31/2025, involving 75 contracts worth $10,000,000,000, and that shortly before, DOGE and Pete Hegseth cut $580,000,000 in Pentagon contracts.
Newsom also expresses views about the war in Iran, saying it is “completely stupid” and driven by “one man’s ego.” He also calls Trump a “textbook narcissist,” adding that once you understand one narcissistic person, “you understand them all.” He says he researched narcissism and provides examples of how narcissistic people respond.