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New Trump labor official has history of racist, sexist and conspiratorial posts

New Trump labor official has history of racist, sexist and conspiratorial posts

The Guardian18 hours ago
A newly appointed official at the US Department of Labor hired by the Trump administration has a recent history of racist, sexually graphic, and conspiratorial posts on social media.
Jessico Bowman announced last week that she was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the labor department. According to the bureau's website, its job is to lead 'the US Department of Labor's efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy'.
Bowman has deleted her account on X and Facebook accounts since announcing her hiring.
In posts seen by the Guardian, Bowman falsely claimed on X in June 2024 that the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol was 'a Democrat plot', adding 'there was a war game simulation and a transition integrity project that planned this out. They thought Trump would win. They stole the election and then created violence and gas lit, jailed us, without due process, and or financially drained us into a silent acceptance.'
Several baseless conspiracy theories have been spread by far-right influencers about the January 6 insurrection in 2021, including ones that claimed they were an inside job or that the crimes were fabricated and didn't happen.
Bowman had previously worked as national secretary for the Republican Liberty Caucus, a libertarian-leaning political action organization.
Her posts include several sexually graphic posts about Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, including claiming Harris had 'hawk tuah experience' and 'hawk tuah'd her way to the White House', tying the presidential candidate to a viral video referencing oral sex.
She also posted a sexually graphic photo of a cookie with Harris's face on it, and a photo of a sexually suggestive rock formation she said was named after Harris.
In a July 2024 post on X, Bowman wrote: 'Kamala isn't a black woman. She is Indian… Why not just get a real black woman instead of the wish.com version?'
Also in July 2024, Bowman wrote in response to the passing of veteran Black Democrat congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee that she 'passed away from her battle with cancer or perhaps severe late stage TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome]'.
She also wrote in July 2024 that Biden 'has definitely rigged the 2024 election'.
Rightwing conspiracy theorist and Trump influencer, Laura Loomer, praised Bowman for the appointment. Bowman contributed an article in April 2025 to Loomer's website criticizing the group Indivisible, a progressive non-profit group founded in 2016 in response to the Trump victory.
'Unlike the Tea Party, which emerged organically from the working class and reshaped a political party from the ground up, Indivisible was always a top-down operation: Soros-backed, consultant-run, and posing as grassroots,' Bowman wrote.
Under Trump, the labor department has seen millions of dollars in grants cut, many midway through multiyear projects. The 2026 budget proposal requested $70m in funds for ILAB, a drop from a request of over $162m in funding for fiscal year 2025.
In an interview with rightwing news site Breitbart earlier this year, Bowman claimed 'there is a communist takeover of our country,' referring to Democratic leaning grassroots groups, claiming they want to 'do away with our Constitution'. She claimed she 'infiltrated' the group Indivisible and claimed the group had stolen a document from the Tea Party and made millions of dollars from them.
She also claimed in the interview, without any evidence, that USAID – the government-backed aid organization shuttered by Trump and Elon Musk – funded these groups. 'Do I think USAID funneled into them? Absolutely, I really do believe they did.'
In June 2025, Bowman replied: 'WTF is this foreign invasion,' in response to a welcome home speech given by Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detained for 104 days before a court ordered his release, ruling his detention was unlawful.
The US Department of Labor did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the posts made by Bowman.
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