President Donald Trump fired board appointees, made by former President Biden, who oversee the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., including former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, reported the New York Times.
“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Mr. Emhoff said in a statement on Tuesday. “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.”
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Emhoff, who is Jewish, was appointed to the council in January—a position that typically comes with a five-year term.
“No divisive political decision will ever shake my commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education or to combatting hate and antisemitism. I will continue to speak out, to educate, and to fight hate in all its forms — because silence is never an option,” Emhoff told NBC News.
Other terminated officials include Biden’s first chief of staff Ron Klain, former labor secretary and Biden senior adviser Tom Perez, national security adviser to former President Barack Obama and Biden’s top domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, and the former first lady Jill Biden’s senior adviser Anthony Bernal. All of the appointments were just announced earlier this year in January.
“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“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. We look forward to continuing to advance our vitally important mission as we work with the Trump Administration,” the museum said in a statement that did not directly address the firings.
This news comes as Trump continues to threaten university campuses with cuts in federal funding for claims of antisemitism on their campuses. In response, leaders from America’s top universities have formed a private collective against the administration.