Trump admin removes Doug Emhoff, other Biden picks from Holocaust Memorial Council
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World marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it's been 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet army in 1945.
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Doug Emhoff, husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse to a president or vice president, has been removed from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council along with other Biden appointees by the Trump administration.
The council represents the board of trustees that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the country's official memorial for the tragedy. Emhoff is one of multiple senior Biden officials who received notice that they were being dismissed just three months into what is usually a five-year appointment.
'Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,' Emhoff said in a statement on April 29. 'Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized. To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous − and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.'
Biden pick dismissed just months into five-year appointment
Described as a "nonpartisan federal, educational institution," the museum usually receives presidential appointees for a half-decade term. In January, a dozen Biden officials were announced as new members of the committee. Five of them, including Emhoff, received emails from Mary Sprowls of the White House Presidential Personnel Office on Tuesday, April 29, reported the New York Times.
'On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council is terminated, effective immediately,' the email said, per the Times. 'Thank you for your service.'
Terminated appointees included former chief of staff, Ron Klain; former labor secretary Tom Perez; top Obama and Biden domestic policy adviser Susan Rice; and Jill Biden's senior adviser, Anthony Bernal, reported the Times. Several non-White House appointees told the outlet they had not received termination letters.
A number of the removed members are known for their work combating antisemitism, such as Rice's involvement in the May 2023 launch of the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to USA TODAY that, 'President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel.'
The White House did not respond to follow-up questions asking for clarification as to why it chose to dismiss the members it did, or what being a "steadfast supporter of the State of Israel" entails.
'Never happened since the first Council was established in 1980'
Critics have expressed concern that this decision is another on Trump's warpath of retribution aimed at dissenters or those perceived to be associated with them. The administration has removed or attempted to remove Biden-appointed and Democratic officials across government positions on a large scale since taking office in January.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said removing the appointees with no explanation "risks politicizing a vital institution" and that the museum and its council "must remain above politics."
"At a time of rising antisemitism and in the face of expanding Holocaust denialism and distortion, we should be uniting to preserve historical truth," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "While it's true that the White House has the privilege to appoint and dismiss members to such bodies, the latter prerogative should be used with caution and only in the most egregious situations."
The group hopes the administration will reconsider or at least explain its position, he continued.
Andy Hollinger, a museum spokesperson, previously told CNN in early 2021 that the Biden administration had not moved to remove any Trump appointees from the council amid other dismissals elsewhere, saying, "To my knowledge, this has never happened since the first Council was established in 1980."
However, the museum's statement on April 29 did not mention the removals.
'At this time of high antisemitism and Holocaust distortion and denial, the museum is gratified that our visitation is robust and demand for Holocaust education is increasing,' it said. 'We look forward to continuing to advance our vitally important mission as we work with the Trump administration.'
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