The Environmental Working Group detected PFAS in groundwater at Annapolis' US Naval Academy. Firefighting foam is the suspected source. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
Trump appointees to advisory boards for military academy are being removed by the Biden administration.
Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer are among the officials who will be fired. McMaster.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, says Biden needs appointees who "qualify."
Check out more stories from Insider's business page.
Biden's administration is cleaning up a few military academy advisory boards.
On Wednesday, the White House Office of Presidential Personnel wrote to several Trump Administration holdovers asking them to resign their positions on advisory and visitor's board for schools such as the US Military Academy and the US Naval Academy.
Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and former National Security Advisor H.R. were among the former officials who were fired from those boards prior to the expiration of their three-year terms. McMaster, Lt. Col. Doug McGregor, and Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary, were among the others.
Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, confirmed the firings. This was first reported by Military Times, Politico and CNN on Wednesday.
In her daily briefing, Psaki stated that the president's goal was to make sure you had nominees for these boards and people who were qualified and aligned to your values. "And so, yes, that was a request that was made. Others will decide if Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, and other candidates are qualified or not to serve on these boards.
The board members are typically alumni, lawmakers, and retired officers. Their role is to oversee the leadership of the academy in training and educating future military officers. Although these appointees should not be considered apolitical, the Trump administration has pushed the boundaries of the rules of these advisory boards and others with countless last-minute appointments.
Several of the members of the booted boards are already pushing back.
Continue the story
Russell Vought, Trump's former Director of Office of Management and Budget, tweeted "No. It's a term of three years," Russell Vought, the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, tweeted. This was in response to a letter from Catherine Russell, director, the personnel office, asking him if he would resign from his position on the board of visitors to the US Naval Academy by Wednesday 6pm or be removed.
John Coale, another Trump appointee to Naval Academy's visitor's board, said that he was also fired and "pissed off".
Meghan Mobbs is a Trump appointee on the West Point Board, and a veteran of Afghanistan. She posted a tweet defending the White House.
"I find the whole act unacceptable and it does not reflect the spirit of government that this Administration has promised. Although President Biden claimed to have run on the platform of unity, his actions prove that this is not the case. It seems that unity is only for those who are conformists.
Insider reported that in August, more than 40 Trump appointees were sitting on prominent federal boards and committees, such as the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, US Holocaust Memorial Council, and President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. They have either made baseless allegations of fraud or supported efforts to reverse it.
Other prominent ex-Trump officials and their allies are the Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Wade, former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and Andrew Giuliani and Max Miller, both from Ohio, as well as Matt Schlapp.
Business Insider has the original article.
