The social media activist Laura Loomer seems to show up whenever a Trump administration official’s career is nearing its end, and she’s helped end the tenure of several mid-level aides.

But as the right-wing provocateur gets closer to President Donald Trump, Republicans are trying to figure out whether she’s delivering finishing blows or just mopping up easy targets.

Loomer operated for a decade on the political fringe. She was known for crashing a Hill hearing and losing a Florida congressional campaign where she ran as a self-described “proud Islamophobe.” But as she draws nearer to the center of power, and after she caused a stir among Trump’s allies by traveling with him, Loomer is now cementing a new reputation as his loyalty enforcer.

Trump fired several National Security Council officials after meeting with Loomer this spring, and the National Security Agency’s chief also lost his post. Just last week, Trump fired the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official after a broadside by Loomer.

Those successes made plenty of headlines for Loomer. Her failures are less frequently documented: She was unable to shield NASA hopeful Jared Isaacman from getting sacked as Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk frayed. Attorney General Pam Bondi has also (so far) survived her Loomering, in the form of fierce criticism at “Blondi” for the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Behind the scenes, some Republicans are impressed with her. Others are dismissive.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., likened her to a “callus” that appears only “after the work’s done.”

“She can say whatever she wants to, to get follows or monetize her following,” said Tillis, a past member of GOP leadership’s whip team who last month fell out with Trump over his megabill and is now retiring. “She may be getting information, so that lets her get ahead of it.”

“But I doubt seriously she’s driving it,” he added. “Because there’s a lot of quality people in this administration [who] I think would have a real problem with that.”

One person close to the White House told Semafor that Loomer is “all over too many issues.”

She’s become so ubiquitous in Trump’s second term that some of her complaints have become “noise” as a result, this person added: “One thing she’s good at is just creating headaches. And there is some value in that.”

In an interview with Semafor, Loomer asked “why the f*ck should I care” about Tillis’ assessment.

“The only easy target I see is Thom Tillis,” she said. “Such an easy target that he decided to announce his early retirement from the Senate on his anniversary after screwing Trump ahead of the vote on the Big Beautiful Bill instead of actually running for reelection again. He is irrelevant.”

Loomer is, however, well aware that she has detractors within the Republican Party and the administration itself. She said she still wants a job inside the Trump White House as a special government employee (the same title Musk held earlier this year), a position that would give her more access and proximity to the president.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that there are people that clearly don’t want me around, right?” Loomer told Semafor.

At the very least, she wants a White House press pass.

“I think that my reporting is probably some of the most consequential reporting in the country right now. And yet, where’s my press pass? I applied for one,” Loomer said.

The White House did not return a request for comment on Loomer’s sway.