A number of officials serving on military academy advisory boards are refusing to resign following President Joe Biden’s purge of the 18 men and women who were appointed to their positions under former President Donald Trump.
Sean Spicer decried the terminations on NewsMax Wednesday, where he is the host, Kellyanne Conway wrote in a tweet that Biden should resign instead and Russ Vought asserted that he would carry out his three-year term.
The three were among the 18 that President Biden told to either resign or be fired at 6pm, provoking accusations that his administration was politicizing what should be non-partisan advisory groups.
Six of the appointees asked to resign serve with the Air Force Academy, six serve with the Military Academy and six serve with the Naval Academy.
They include Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, H.R. McMaster, Russell Vought, Heidi Stirrup, Michael Wynne, Jack Keane, Douglas Macgregor, Guy Swan III, Meaghan Mobbs, David Urban, Jonathan Hiler, John Coale, Anthony Parker and Joseph Walsh.
The remaining three have not yet been publicly named. Asked by Politico if he was among those asked to resign, Sebastian Gorka, who Trump named to the National Security Education Board, responded in a text by saying, “Hey CuckBoy go lick some Democrat’s boots.’
The boards include presidential appointees and members of Congress who are tasked with advising on everything from morale and discipline to the curriculum.
Speaking on NewsMax, Spicer claimed on his show that the removal of the Trump appointees is because ‘maybe they want to inject liberal ideology like critical race theory into the curriculum, and they want to ensure there’s no pushback.’
He spoke directly to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who named him when addressing the resignations, and said, ‘When you wear the uniform, you serve the commander-in-chief. We take an oath as officers to the Constitution, not to a party.’
He added, ‘Each of us chooses how we’re going to serve this country. I won’t ever question how anyone chooses to do that. I won’t question how you choose to do that, Jen. But don’t you dare ever minimize or question my service to this nation. You got it?’
Russ Vought, who was director the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, shared a letter from Catherine Russell, director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, demanding his resignation from the Board of Visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy.
‘Please submit your resignation to me by the close of business today,’ it said.
‘Should we not receive your resignation, your position with the board will be terminated effective 6:00pm tonight. Thank you.’
He responded: ‘No. It’s a three year term.’
Jonathan Hiler, a Navy academy alumnus who served as director of legislative affairs for Vice President Mike Pence, also shared his letter on Twitter and wrote, ‘I am not resigning. As an alum and former naval officer, I believe developing leaders capable of defending our country’s interests at sea — USNA’s mission — is not something that should be consumed by partisan politics. Apparently, President Biden feels differently. @WhiteHouse.’
While John Coale didn’t respond to the resignation order, his wife and TV host Greta Van Susteren tweeted her husband’s letter and wrote, “This is lousy . . . [Coale] merely wanted to help – this is a non partisan Board of Americans volunteering to help.”
She added in a follow-up tweet, “And by the way, both political parties do this and it is rotten . . how do Administrations expect to foster non-partisanship among Americans when they act partisan with volunteer boards that have no power to effectual [sic] American policy?”
Conway hit back at President Biden in a tweet on Wednesday and wrote, ‘I’m not resigning but you should.’
She accused Biden of trying to distract from political crises that were engulfing his administration and said his request was a break from presidential norms.
‘It certainly seems petty and political, if not personal,’ she wrote in a letter posted on Twitter. ‘The result is that faithful and willing public servants will be discouraged or thwarted from service. Our service academies risk being further politicized and polarized.’
Meaghan Mobbs, a West Point graduate and former Trump adviser on military family issues, wrote in her response: ‘It is tragic that this great institution is now being subjected to and hijacked by partisan action that serve no purpose and no greater good.
‘Make no mistake, the move to terminate duly appointed presidential appointees sets a dangerous precedent for future administrations and undermines our institutions.’
Trump stacked a number of advisory groups with loyalists shortly before the end of his term.
They included appointing his former impeachment lawyer Pam Bondi to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and leading conservative Matt Schlapp to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board.
Since then, the Biden administration has been working its way through the appointments, removing what they see as Trump loyalists.
A source said other members asked to resign from the West Point Board of Visitors are former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keane; former Pentagon senior adviser Douglas Macgregor; former U.S. Army North commander Guy Swan III; and West Point graduate David Urban.
McMaster is due to be honored in a West Point ceremony at the weekend as a 2021 Distinguished Graduate.
The White House defended the move on Wednesday as Press Secretary Jen Psaki fielded criticism that the administration risked politicizing the boards.
‘I will let others evaluate whether they think Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer and others were qualified – or not political – to serve on these boards,’ she said.
‘But the president’s qualification requirements are not your party registration, they are whether you’re qualified to serve and whether you’re aligned with the values of this administration.’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended the decision, saying appointees should be qualified for the job