The list of Donald Trump’s failed nominees has quietly become rather long. It includes a variety of notable figures, tapped for positions large and small, including Matt Gaetz, Dave Weldon, Ed Martin, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Chad Chronister, Kathleen Sgamma, E.J. Antoni and Paul Ingrassia.
Late Friday afternoon, the list grew a little longer. Politico reported:
President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew Donald Korb’s nomination for IRS chief counsel on Friday. While Trump didn’t explain his decision, right-wing political activist Laura Loomer reposted Trump’s announcement on her X account, along with the hashtag ‘#LOOMERED.’ Loomer, who’s sidelined several administration officials, chastised Korb on Wednesday for praising Democrats and donating to them.
The Republican-led Senate was preparing a confirmation vote on Korb (he’d already been approved by the Senate Finance Committee) and by all appearances, he was likely to be confirmed — right up until Trump decided he no longer supported his own nominee.
For the IRS, this wasn’t exactly good news. The tax agency has struggled to an almost cartoonish degree to hold onto a leading officials in recent months, and Korb, who was the IRS chief counsel during the Bush/Cheney administration, was poised to fill an important vacancy.
But just as notable is how often right-wing influencers appear to be steering the White House, especially when it comes to personnel decisions.
In September, for example, far-right influencers targeted a Navy commander. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired her soon after. Around the same time, CBS News reported that online conservatives played a role in helping oust FBI officials who’d been deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump.
In July, the Army rescinded a job offer to a top cybersecurity expert in response to complaints from a far-right influencer. A few weeks earlier, Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, a F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot, was poised to become a vice admiral and take command of the Navy’s 7th Fleet. Then, far-right influencers complained. Then, Hegseth blocked the Navy admiral’s promotion, which had already been approved by Trump.
In some instances, even federal prosecutors have been ousted in response to complaints from right-wing influencers. These are just some of the recent examples. Over the course of 2025, there have been a great many other instances in which prominent conservative activists and media personalities have played a direct role in shaping policy, blocking personnel, orchestrating firings and even forcing resignations. It’s a problem that so many amateurs have posts in the White House and throughout the administration. But it’s just as big a problem that they’re taking direction from other amateurs with conservative media megaphones. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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