The Pentagon made no effort to conceal the fact that Austin undertook the action due to concerns that the Trump administration was openly packing a few plates of loyalists.
“The Secretary was deeply concerned about the pace and extent of the recent changes to memberships of advisory committees of the department, and this review will now enable him to quickly get his arms around the purpose of these boards and to make sure that the advisory committees are in fact the best possible advice to the department’s leadership, ”said John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman.
Current members who are told to retire are only those appointed by the Pentagon and not those appointed by the White House or Congress. For example, four people appointed by the Pentagon in a congressional commission to strip the names of the confederate generals of military bases will be removed, but others in the panel appointed by Congress will remain.
A review of all the boards and whether it is still necessary will now be the focus before new members are nominated.
“There is no doubt that the frenetic activity that took place in the composition of so many boards in the period from November to January deeply touched the secretary and certainly helped him to move towards this decision,” Kirby added.
“Our responsibilities require that we continually evaluate to ensure that each advisory committee provides the necessary value today and in the future as times and requirements change,” Austin said in a note to the department.
The 42 advisory boards cost taxpayers millions of dollars annually, and some of their work is suspected to be redundant, which has increased the need for review.
The action currently removes hundreds of people who serve on boards and provide advice on everything from defense policy, science, innovation, health issues, coastal engineering, sexual misconduct and diversity and inclusion.
In December, CNN reported that Trump had purged a Pentagon business advisory board and replaced its members with Bossie and Lewandowski, and neither of them had served in the military or apparent experience with the defense industry.
Members suddenly removed from the Defense Policy Council, an outside advisory group that advises the Secretary of Defense on defense policy, include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, former House Intelligence Committee Jane Harman and former House Majority Leader Majority Majority. ,
One Trump loyalist who is expected to retain her advisory role is Kellyanne Conway, who nominated Trump to the Air Force Academy of Visitors. The seats on the board are controlled by the president, so the Austin memo does not cover the panels where the White House mentions members.