Trump Fires Doug Emhoff, Other Biden Appointees From Holocaust Memorial Council, Raising Fears of Politicization
President Donald Trump’s administration has removed several appointees of former President Joe Biden from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff, the Jewish husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris and a vocal advocate against antisemitism. The dismissals were communicated on Tuesday via official emails from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, according to sources and statements from those affected.
“I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Emhoff said in a public statement. “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 6 million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”
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The council, which governs the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, includes 55 presidentially appointed members as well as representatives from Congress and federal departments. Traditionally considered a nonpartisan body, it oversees the museum’s educational mission and commemorative activities.
Those dismissed also include former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, former domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, and Anthony Bernal, a senior adviser to Jill Biden. Most had been appointed earlier this year to five-year terms.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the move, saying that President Trump “looks forward to appointing new individuals … who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel.” Critics, including Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, warned that politicizing Holocaust remembrance sets a dangerous precedent.
The museum avoided direct comment on the firings but said it remains committed to its educational mission in cooperation with the Trump administration.
