I am writing on behalf of President Biden to ask you to resign as a member of the Board of Visitors for the U.S. According to the letter Vought posted on Twitter, Russell said that Naval Academy. I need your resignation by today's close. Your position on the Board will end tonight at 6:00 pm if we do not receive your resignation.
Vought, who founded the Center for Renewing America earlier this year, posted a tweet stating his refusal to comply. He replied, "No." It's a term of three years.
John Coale was a Washington lawyer and was appointed to the Naval Academy board on Jan. 5. He was also fired. He said that he was angry at Trump for firing him.
On Wednesday, other former Trump officials were threatened with being fired from similar boards. This included H.R. Reynolds, the former national security advisor and David Urban, a lobbyist for Trump. According to one of the dismissed board members, McMaster, David Urban, a lobbyist, and retired Gen. Jack Keane were all threatened with firing. McMaster will be honored by West Points Association of Graduates later this week as a Distinguished Graduate of academy.
Keane stated in a text message, "It is very disappointing that President Biden doesn't uphold the previous presidents' appointments which have been pretty much the norm."
Meaghan Mobbs was an Afghanistan vet who was also asked to resign as a West Point board member. She tweeted: "I find this whole act unconscionable. Not all in the spirit by the Administration promised to govern." 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 follow the rules.
Sebastian Gorka, Trump's nominee to the National Security Education Board replied to a text message asking if he had received a similar letter.
CNN and the Army Times were the first to report the news about possible firings.
Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary, was also asked to resign as a member of the Naval Academy board. He said that he wouldn't do it and stated that he would be joining a lawsuit against Biden's actions on Wednesday night's Newsmax.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, later confirmed that Trump's appointees would be removed in a briefing Wednesday afternoon.
She stated that the president's objective was the same as any president's: to make sure you have people and nominees on these boards who can be qualified and aligned to your values.
Vought's insistence that he will finish his term creates a potential dynamic legal and political struggle over a largely ceremonial post.
Since Trump's takeover, the Biden White House has been looking for ways to remove Trump officials. The Pentagon quickly suspended some of these appointments and the Department of Homeland Security expelled all members of its advisory board in March. However, it was clear that certain circumstances would make their hands bind.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Biden had the power to remove employees from independent agencies. This was because the Federal Housing Finance Agency's leadership structure was not constitutional. It didn't allow the president to fire its director at will. Only for cause. Biden took Mark Calabria, Trump's appointee to the FHFA, out of his post and replaced him with its preferred choice.
In other cases, however, the process has not been smooth. Roger Severino was a former Health and Human Services official who was removed from his position on the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. He was appointed by Trump's last days. Biden was sued by Severino, claiming that he did not have the constitutional authority to terminate him. The case is still being litigated.
Trump stacked a variety of boards with loyalists before he left office. These included former impeachment lawyer Pam Bondi for Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser for the Air Force Academy board of Visitors, and Matt Schlapp for Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. Trump also appointed three former aides to the Holocaust Memorial Museums Board: Nick Luna, ex-body man, and Ric Grennell, former acting director for national intelligence. Andrew Giuliani was also an aide to the White House.
Conway refused to resign, but she wrote a Twitter letter urging Biden. Conway's decision to ask for resignations was disappointing, but she acknowledged that it was understandable considering the need to distract attention from a news cycle in which you are mired in self-inflicted crises as well as plummeting poll numbers.
Sam Stein contributed to the article.
