WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered hundreds of members of the Pentagon’s advisory board to resign this month as part of a comprehensive panel review, essentially purging several dozen last-minute nominees under the Trump administration.
During the last two months of his term, incumbent former Defense Secretary Christopher Miller removed several longtime members of various defense policy, health, science and business councils and replaced many with supporters of former President Donald Trump. More than 30 of those replacements will now be forced to resign, including former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
“I am ordering the immediate suspension of all operations of the advisory committee until the review is completed, unless otherwise instructed by me or the Deputy Defense Secretary,” Austin said in a memo released Tuesday. And he ordered all committee members appointed by the defense secretary to resign by February 16.
Austin said the review will assess whether each council offers value and make sure that its focus is aligned with “our most urgent strategic priorities and the National Defense Strategy”.
Tata, a former Fox News commentator, was unable to obtain Senate confirmation for the Pentagon’s political post early last year because of offensive comments he made, including on Islam. In November, however, Trump appointed him to the same position, just days after he sacked then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and put Miller in the position.
Miller appointed Tata to the Defense Policy Council on January 19, his last full day at work. Gingrich was appointed to the same council. Lewandowski was appointed to the Defense Business Council.
A senior defense official said Austin’s decision was driven by Miller’s frantic activity to remove dozens of board members and replace them in such a short period between Trump’s electoral defeat and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Of the 42 advisory panels listed in the Austin memo, 31 will have their members removed, six will be part of the review, but their members will be retained and five others currently have no members or have completed their business. Among the 31 are some of the department’s best-known councils, including those with competence in defense policy, science, health, innovation, Arlington National Cemetery and women in the army.
Altogether, there are more than 600 members on the 42 councils. Defense officials said they did not know exactly how many were being asked to resign, but there would be hundreds.
Visitors’ plates from the Army, Navy and Air Force academies will retain their members because they are presidential nominations that Austin has no authority to overthrow. Among the Trump nominees who will remain on these boards are former press secretary Sean Spicer and longtime aide Kellyanne Conway. Such advice, however, will be subject to review.
A new Congress-mandated commission is also being purged of the four members Miller appointed in early January. The panel has not yet started its work, but it will be responsible for figuring out how to proceed to rename the military bases and properties that honor the Confederate leaders. The panel is not subject to Austin’s broader review, but he plans to appoint four new members.
In a letter to Austin this week, US representatives Anthony Brown, D-Md. And Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, asked for the removal of Miller’s four nominees on the nominating council. Trump objected to the renaming of the bases, and cited this as a reason to veto the defense bill, which included a clause that established the panel to handle the process.
“Those who are called upon to serve their nation in this matter must have a deep knowledge and experience in the history of Confederate monuments and their role in the white supremacy movement,” wrote Brown and Beatty to Austin.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Austin believes that stopping the activity of all councils and making a more intense review was the most fair and consistent process.
Officials said the review will look at whether councils have overlapping jurisdictions and whether they should be realigned or whether it is possible to save money by reducing some of them. It will also make recommendations on the number of members, size and mission of all councils.