logo
Donald Trump fires Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff from board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC

Donald Trump fires Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff from board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC

Sky News AU30-04-2025

The Trump administration on Tuesday fired former second gentleman Doug Emhoff from the board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, as the president aims to install more 'steadfast' Israel supporters at the institution.
Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, was among several Biden administration appointments to the board removed by President Trump.
'Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,' Emhoff said in a statement posted on X.
'Let me be clear: 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.'
Emhoff — who is Jewish and served on former President Joe Biden's White House antisemitism task force after a startling rise in the scourge after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — was appointed to the board in January and was slated to serve a five-year term.
Ron Klain, Biden's former chief of staff; Tom Perez, a former Biden White House adviser; Anthony Bernal, an ex-adviser to former first lady Jill Biden; and Susan Rice, national security adviser to former President Barack Obama, were also recently ousted from the Holocaust museum board, a White House official confirmed.
The New York Times first reported on the firings.
'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,' read an email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, informing the board members of their removal, according to the outlet.
'Thank you for your service.'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post that Trump is aiming to replace the ousted board members with stronger supporters of Israel.
'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,' she said in a statement.
Originally published as Donald Trump fires Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff from board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

AUKUS review: Pentagon's Elbridge Colby orders inquiry to ensure defence agreement aligns with ‘America First'
AUKUS review: Pentagon's Elbridge Colby orders inquiry to ensure defence agreement aligns with ‘America First'

West Australian

timean hour ago

  • West Australian

AUKUS review: Pentagon's Elbridge Colby orders inquiry to ensure defence agreement aligns with ‘America First'

The Trump Administration's biggest AUKUS sceptic has ordered a review into whether the US should pull out of the submarine deal with Australia, just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused America's request to lift defence spending. The inquiry was directed by AUKUS-sceptic Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, the Financial Times reported . A US Defence official said the review was 'part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous Administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda.' 'As Secretary Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence, and that the defence industrial base is meeting our needs,' the official said in a statement. 'This review will ensure the initiative meets these common-sense, America First criteria.' Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Beijing would be cheering at the news. 'News that the Trump Administration is considering backing away from AUKUS will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America's global pullback and our strained ties with allies under President Trump,' Senator Shaheen said. 'Scrapping this partnership would further tarnish America's reputation and raise more questions among our closest defence partners and our reliability.' Mr Colby is one of the America First movement's fiercest critics of what he views as shirker allies. He was also the first in US President Donald Trump's orbit to voice concerns about AUKUS. When asked by The Nightly, at a speaking engagement in London, he said he would have been quite sceptical about the deal if it were put to him to sign off on. 'My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it?' he said 12 months ago. 'AUKUS is only going to lead to more submarines collectively in 10, 15, 20 years, which is way beyond the window of maximum danger, which is really in this decade. 'So the benefits are questionable and the viability is also questionable.' However, Mr Colby retreated from some of his criticisms and directed most of his ire toward European NATO allies, who have subsequently begun to pledge massive defence spending increases prompting his praise. By contrast, in the last few days he has been issuing statements on X about the need for Indo-Pacific allies to heed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's call for more defence funding. Mr Hegseth asked Defence Minister Richard Marles to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP at a meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. Currently, Labor plans to spend 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence by the middle of the next decade. Mr Marles responded by saying he was 'totally up for a conversation' but refused to confirm the figure Mr Hegseth requested. The Defence Secretary released the figure in a statement three days later. Since then, Labor has become more strident in its opposition and said the decision is for Australia, not the US to make. Mr Albanese told the Press Club this week he had not been provided with any capabilities that need funding and was not going to commit to a blind yardstick method of government spending. Australia has already paid the first US$500 million ($760 million) to buy up to three nuclear-powered submarines from the United States, under a deal first struck with the Biden Administration by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Mr Marles paid the cheque in Feburary when he first met Mr Hegseth after President Trump's inauguration. At the time, Mr Hegseth said Mr Trump was aware and supportive of AUKUS and this was recently further backed by comments the President's personally appointed Ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, made at an event in London, alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It is unclear if Mr Colby's review is the act of a lone operator or represents a change in the stance of the Administration, which is often ideologically split on key policy areas. AUKUS is the most expensive and ambitious defence acquisition project in Australia's history and aims to buy and then build nuclear-powered submarines at a cost of $368 billion. But because Australia cannot build nuclear-propelled submarines and faces an urgent capability gap with the Collins Class boats reaching their end of life, it is reliant on purchasing off-the-shelf Virginia-class boats from the Americans and then co-building an SSN AUKUS version of submarine with the British. The UK government put on a brave face. A government spokesperson said the review was 'understandable.' 'It is understandable that a new administration would want to review its approach to such a major partnership, just as the UK did last year,' the spokesperson said. 'The UK will continue to work closely with the US and Australia at all levels to maximise the benefits and opportunities which AUKUS presents for our three nations.'

Starter kit: Non-profits openly fuelling Los Angeles riots by handing out expletive-ridden protective gear
Starter kit: Non-profits openly fuelling Los Angeles riots by handing out expletive-ridden protective gear

Sky News AU

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

Starter kit: Non-profits openly fuelling Los Angeles riots by handing out expletive-ridden protective gear

Leftwing non-profit groups are openly helping to fuel anti-ICE riots here by handing out 'F*** ICE' packs with protective equipment — as protesters continue to take over downtown every night and engage in rolling battles with cops, federal agents and National Guard troops.- Chilling footage revealed one unidentified group handing out a truckload of face shields and other riot gear to protesters in downtown Los Angeles. The 'F*** ICE' packages — which include goggles, facemasks, gloves and a phone number for 'jail support' — are being assembled and distributed by a non-profit called Operation Healthy Hearts. It's just one of several organizations that started as grassroots community aid agencies, but have been waded into politics and thrown their weight behind left wing street protests. At least one group received federal funding before the Trump administration turned off the spigot. '[The federal government] cut off our funding for other reasons, so we really have nothing left to lose,' LA Poverty Department COO Pamela Miller told The Post. That group, an arts nonprofit that operates the Skid Row History Museum & Archive, allowed another organization to use their building to distribute PPE packages for protesters on Monday. Among the items available at the museum were anarchist pamphlets that advocate for setting cops cars on fire, burning down police precincts and targeting banks and ATMs as part of 'direct action' against police. The pamphlets also include instructions on how to thwart police anti-riot tactics. Miller, however, dismissed the violence that has overtaken LA every night as 'a few knuckleheads doing stupid s***.' 'The immigrant community is important. And they are vulnerable. [ICE] say we want to get rid of the criminals. Then where are they going? To churches, to schools,' Miller said. 'They're targeting people who can't protect themselves.' She added: 'We want to support people's rights to stand up to authoritarian takeover, and however many knuckleheads are doing stupid s***, that doesn't make us want to back away from standing up for our neighbors' rights.' Los Angeles has been a bed of chaos since protests against ICE descended into scenes of chaos by day and looting by night, with tensions intensifying as President Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines into the city to restore order. LA Poverty Department was handing out PPE in the midst of that with the help of another community group, the Mutual Aid /Social Therapy (MAST), which describes itself as 'a decentralized project that uses the principles of mutual aid to put the tools of the psychological disciplines in the hands of the people.' But rather than focusing on spreading therapy practices, the group has been passing out goggles and gear to help protesters evade teargas and rubber bullets, while stoking anti-law enforcement sentiment on social media. Like the other groups, Operation Healthy Hearts generally organizes community service like food drives for the homeless on LA's Skid Row, but in addition to creating the 'F*** ICE PPE' packs has a long history of pumping out leftwing rhetoric on its social media — and has been denouncing law enforcement since protests started Friday. 'Police are attacking journalists and protesters. We need people to look out for each other,' said Alexandra Pierce, a volunteer for the group who was handing out PPE kits in the middle of protests on Tuesday. 'I want to help people in need, and I just feel very passionate about the politics of this and want to help protect people any way I can,' she added. Another group that has been advertising the 'F*** ICE' kits, Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network (MALAN), says it's a central information network for aid groups and non-profits — including MAST and Operation Healthy Hearts. Operation Healthy Hearts only just received its tax-exempt nonprofit status last month, and bills itself as a homeless outreach group that runs food banks and helps provide public health resources to the homeless population. MALAN was founded in March 2020 in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also has a history of throwing its weight behind partisan leftwing causes on social media, including anti-Israel protests. Protests broke out in LA Friday after ICE raided numerous workplaces across the city and hauled off suspected illegal immigrants. Demonstrators then tried to pre-empt ICE arrivals at other locations and block their efforts, and picketed a downtown detention center where detainees were being held. But ICE says many of the people they arrested in their raids are known criminals with alarming rap sheets — including some with convictions for violent attempted rapes, and even murder. Some of the protests quickly turned violent, with city streets being left littered with burning cars by days and looters ransacking storefronts by night. Originally published as Starter kit: Non-profits openly fuelling Los Angeles riots by handing out expletive-ridden protective gear

Radical Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad accused of insulting Jews in sermons to become an 'influencer'
Radical Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad accused of insulting Jews in sermons to become an 'influencer'

Sky News AU

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

Radical Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad accused of insulting Jews in sermons to become an 'influencer'

A radical Islamic preacher has been accused of making anti-Semitic comments about Jews in a bid to become an online celebrity. Wissam Haddad took the stand in a landmark trial brought by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Australia's peak Jewish body, over five sermons he delivered in November 2023 the group regards as anti-Semitic and in breach of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. In the sermons, Mr Haddad describes Jews as the 'descendants of pigs and monkeys', and a 'vile and treacherous' people who use their 'wealth' to wield power over the weak, among other derogatory terms. Mr Haddad testified that by 'Jews', he was only referring to Jews 'of faith'. 'I'm speaking about Jews of faith, not an ethnicity,' Mr Haddad said. He also claimed to be speaking about Jews in either the 7th century, during the times of historical battles with Muslims, or Jews who are currently in the Israeli government. "When I speak about Jews today, I'm referring to the Jews that are in charge of Israel,' Mr Haddad said. The barrister for the Jewish group, Peter Braham SC, put to Mr Haddad he'd never made the distinction during the speeches, which were delivered at his Al Madina Dawah Centre in southwest Sydney - which the court heard has since closed - and later uploaded to social media pages on Facebook and Rumble. Mr Haddad responded he did not have to make the qualification because the Muslims he was speaking to would have implicitly understood. He later said, 'I never set out to insult Jews, no', and agreed it would be 'improper' to make a blanket statement about all Jews. When pressed by both Justice Angus Stewart whether he accepted there were Israeli government members and supporters of 'no particular faith', Mr Haddad said he did not 'have that knowledge.' In one of the 2023 speeches in question, Mr Haddad referred to Jews as 'rats'. 'The majority of banks are owned by the Jews,' he says in the speech. 'Peace is bad for the Jews. There goes our media, our Hollywood blockbuster films.' Mr Braham put to Mr Haddad that the 'Jews of the Israeli government don't have Hollywood blockbuster films.' 'It's just a lie for you to say you were only talking about Jews in the Israeli government when you were talking about Jews who made Hollywood films?' Mr Braham said. Mr Haddad denied he had lied. The court heard of other occasions Mr Haddad had made insulting comments about other religious communities, including when he gave a sermon in 2022 in which he warned Muslims wishing someone 'Merry Christmas' was worse than 'congratulating someone… for committing murder'. In 2023, he gave another sermon calling Hindus 'worshippers of cows and monkeys', then posted an Instagram video in which he mockingly eats a hamburger while saying he does not have 'beef' with anyone. Cows are considered sacred to Hindus. Mr Haddad has relied on the defence that his speeches were made 'reasonably and in good faith', which would provide an exemption under section 18D of the Act. Mr Braham said the cleric's past controversial comments showed he was not a person 'who engages in serious discussions.' 'He's a person who engages in mocking, flippant comments of other communities - mocking Christmas, mocking people's dietary habits,' Mr Braham said. He put to Mr Haddad he had repeatedly courted controversy in the past and was making 'rude and racist' comments about Jews to attract attention to himself. 'You wanted to be an online personality, an influencer, didn't you?' Mr Braham said. 'No,' Mr Haddad responded. 'Weren't you trying to relive the glory days of the controversies about Christians and Hindus?' Mr Braham said. 'No,' was again the reply. Mr Haddad spent much of his time in the witness box arguing his speeches were derived from Islamic scripture, a claim he was repeatedly challenged on. The Jewish group may call an expert on Islamic scripture on Thursday before both sides present their closing arguments. The trial finishes in the Federal Court on Friday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store