(The Hill) — Former second gentleman Doug Emhoff on Tuesday was kicked off of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board, which includes over 50 president-appointed members.
“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. 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 said in a statement to The Hill.
“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,” he added.
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Emhoff, who is Jewish, worked to combat the rise in antisemitism during the Biden administration and was appointed to the board by former President Joe Biden. He was also active on the campaign trail, going to bat for Vice President Kamala Harris in challenging Trump before she lost to the president in November.
A White House official confirmed to The Hill that some members of the council have been released and that the Trump administration is interviewing potential replacements.
Other former officials removed from the council included Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain, former Biden domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and former senior adviser to first lady Jill Biden, Anthony Bernal, among others, The New York Times reported
The museum did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the removals. The council includes over 50 members as well as members appointed by the House and Senate, according to the museum’s website.
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The White House Presidential Personnel Office sent an email to council members on Tuesday morning, stating, “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,” according to the Times.
Trump announced in February that he would end the terms of multiple members of the Kennedy Center board and make himself chair of a new board. Similarly, presidents appoint members to the Kennedy Center board, and it had included some Biden-era names such as former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
