The military academies have advisory boards that include presidential appointees and members of Congress.
They have an oversight function and provide “advice and recommendations” to the president (view description on West Point’s website here).
Before leaving office, Trump stashed 18 of his White House staffers and political operatives on those boards.
Biden gave them until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, to resign and fired those who didn’t. Read story here (The Hill), here (CNN), here (ABC News), and/or here (USA Today).
Those ousted include Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, Corey Lewandowski, and lesser known but controversial figures like Heidi Stirrup, who was banned from the Department of Justice building for violating information security protocols, and John Mcgregor, a retired colonel with a history of making anti-immigrant remarks and spreading conspiracy theories.
Some squawked (see story here), asserting they can’t be removed before their 3-year terms expire. I don’t know the answer to that, but I guess they can test that in the courts, if they so desire; I’m not sure I’d spend the lawyer’s fees to keep a job that pays $5 per meeting. One said he’s “pissed,” which doesn’t sound like a legal argument per se.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded, “The president’s qualification requirements are not your party registration. They are whether you’re qualified to serve.” The unspoken insinuation is that Conway, Spicer, Lewandowski, and some of the others don’t know squat about training future generals and admirals. She also spoke of “values” aligned with those of “this administration.” Mcgregor obviously flunks that test.
I don’t think those should be political patronage jobs or honorifics in reward for loyal partisan service. I’d like to see those boards staffed with people who know what they’re doing. We don’t know yet who will replace them. But given this cast of carnival clowns, it would be hard to do worse.
Related article: Joe Lockhart, a Democrat and former Bill Clinton press secretary, argues the presidential appointees to these boards “like ambassadors” serve at the president’s pleasure, and Biden had every right to replace Trump’s people with his own. Read his comments here.
Republican and Democratic administrations do this sort of thing all the time. [This comment has been edited.]
And chickens squawk when their heads are cut off.