Pentagon Clears Out Advisory Boards to Oust Last-Minute Trump Picks

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ NEWS EXCLUSIVE POLITICS

Pentagon Clears Out Advisory Boards to Oust Last-Minute Trump Picks

With clean sweep, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin avoids selectively firing Trump supporters

By Nancy A. Youssef
https://twitter.com/nancyayoussef
[e-mail]
Updated Feb. 2, 2021 3:25 pm ET

WASHINGTON--Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed hundreds of members of the Pentagon's policy advisory boards Monday, ousting last-minute Trump administration nominees as well as officials appointed by previous administrations. ... By removing members, effective Feb. 16, Mr. Austin avoided selectively firing those appointed by the Trump administration. The defense chief also ordered a review of at least 42 boards to be completed by June, defense officials said.

"Advisory boards have and will continue to provide an important role in shaping public policy within [the Department of Defense]," Mr. Austin wrote in a memo to the Pentagon's leadership. "That said, our stewardship responsibilities require that we continually assess to ensure each advisory committee provides appropriate value today." ... Mr. Austin believed "this was the most fair, most equitable way" to address questions about the boards, a defense official said in a briefing with reporters.

{snip}

The move was foreshadowed last week when Mr. Austin suspended the onboarding process for Trump administration nominees to Pentagon advisory boards, effectively preventing them from being seated.

{snip}

In the last weeks of the Trump administration, then acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller named several supporters of Mr. Trump to various Pentagon advisory boards.

{snip}

Write to Nancy A. Youssef at [e-mail]

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/defense-chief-clears-out-pentagon-advisory-boards-to-oust-last-minute-trump-picks-11612289262

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed hundreds of members of the Pentagon's advisory boards, ousting last-minute Trump administration nominees as well as officials appointed by previous administrations

Link to tweet

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Hat tip, Bruno at Joe.My.God.

https://www.joemygod.com/2021/02/georgia-gop-makes-new-move-to-suppress-voting/#comment-5251677988

NEW: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has removed all members from the Pentagon's advisory boards in a sweeping effort to oust a series of last-minute appointees by former President Donald Trump
https://politico.com/news/2021/02/02/lloyd-austin-pentagon-advisory-board-members-465108
@laraseligman

@connorobrienNH
, first reported by
@nancyayoussef

Link to tweet

***ORIGINAL SOURCE. EDITED TO REPLACE WITH TWSJ., WHICH HAD IT FIRST.***

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/02/lloyd-austin-pentagon-advisory-board-members-465108

DEFENSE

Austin ousts Pentagon advisory board members as he roots out Trump appointees

The Trump administration booted several members of the advisory boards after losing the election and installed political operatives and loyalists in their place.

By LARA SELIGMAN and CONNOR O'BRIEN

02/02/2021 02:13 PM EST

Updated: 02/02/2021 03:04 PM EST

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has removed members of the Pentagon's advisory boards in a sweeping effort to oust a series of last-minute appointees by the Trump administration, according to defense officials and a memo obtained by POLITICO.

In the memo dated Saturday, Austin fired members serving on DoD's advisory boards effective Feb. 16, and directed the immediate suspension of all committee operations while the Pentagon completes a "zero-based review" of at least 42 defense advisory committees.

The news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, affects only members who were appointed by former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller. "Members that are appointed by Congress or by the president are retained during this review period," a defense official said.

The ousting comes just days after Austin halted the in-processing of new members, effectively preventing a number of former President Donald Trump's acolytes, who were still completing paperwork and undergoing security checks, from actually serving on the panels. That included Trump's 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie. Also out is Kash Patel, who was Miller's chief of staff, who said over the weekend that he had been sworn in but his in-processing had been put on hold. (1)

{snip}

(1) https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/28/pentagon-suspends-trump-appointments-463601

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

1. Go General Austin! nt

[brush]

2. Good job, Sec. Austin. Root out all the trump moles.

There's no place for them in a Dem. admin.

Were these plants appointed before the insurrection, perhaps to help in hindering Nat'l Guard response and to be in place if the coup succeeded?

[PSPS]

8. I'd say there's no place for them in any administration

[dalton99a]

27. +1

[former9thward]

31. He also fired those appointed by President Obama.

And any other president.

[brush]

32. Which ones by Pres. Obama? I took it he was clearing out all the late...

hires by the orange anus.

[former9thward]

33. Nope.

If you read the fine print in the OP he fired everyone, no matter who they were appointed by.

From the OP

WASHINGTON--Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed hundreds of members of the Pentagon's policy advisory boards Monday, ousting last-minute Trump administration nominees as well as officials appointed by previous administrations

[stillcool]

3. wow...More, please!!

[Leghorn21]

4. GOOD

BYE

LOSERS

[mmbrevo]

5. Draining the swamp.

[sarge43]

6. Thank you, sir. Well done.

[ClickClack]

7. Hmm, I misread the title of this post as ending with "Trump Pricks" [n/t]

I mean, "Pentagon Clears Out Advisory Boards to Oust Last-Minute Trump Pricks" just sounds more accurate to me, anyway.

[mdbl]

12. LOL

true

[BobTheSubgenius]

9. Anyone who thinks this is a bad move is someone with whom you don't want to discuss politics.

5 will get you 10 that they are a Magat.

[mdbl]

10. This couldn't happen quickly enough

glad it's finally happening.

[Harker]

11. Gather the Hydra's teeth.

Keep them in a jar somewhere.

[IronLionZion]

13. Good to see Dems playing hardball, stand strong!

[jaxexpat]

19. Unfortunate that the term "hard ball", in this case, is appropriate.

It's a sign of our devolution. The term was meant to separate difficult political questions from rather easier, soft ball inquiry. Or to imply that someone was playing for serious stakes in a business deal. And, truth be told, when a pitch is wide of the strike zone and clips the batter, a hard ball makes more of an impact on the poor batter than a soft one.

The point I'm trying to make is that this term is being used to describe the means/methods of the executive branch of the United States government to perform universally proper actions in cooperation with the legislative branch. It's only because there is an irresponsible political power which is in contention with this proper and righteous action that the batter is allowed to stand in the strike zone. The umpire is us. The batter should not get a free pass to first base. If the batter's technique is to lean into the pitch, the pitcher needs to throw harder. That's the way "hard ball" shakes out.

Enough of my bombast. It's simple. We got the mound.

[Normanart]

14. Very smart move

Lots of "house cleaning" needs to be done.

[C Moon]

15. Some were probably still in touch with Trump (Putin).

That move is going to piss the hell out of Trump.

[LuvNewcastle]

18. That's what I think foo.

Trump's not done scheming. It wouldn't surprise me if he had another rally while the impeachment is going on. He would be willing to risk some of his followers' lives so that he could claim them as martyrs for the cause and stir up controversy. He would do anything to ruin this country and try to split us up. His boss is Putin, after all.

[FakeNoose]

16. Awesome move - this needs to be done everywhere

Thank you Lloyd Austin!

[BComplex]

28. Especially in our justice department, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc etc....all the Intelligence Agencies.

We definitely need to rid them of trump people since they're all on russia's payroll anyway. No double-dipping anymore for russians.

[monkeyman1]

17. any body know if veteran' s admin. chief is still there ?

[Hekate]

20. Seems like a good move to me. De-Trumpification is in order. nt

[TygrBright]

21. I cannot overstate the sheer brilliance of this move.

Those 42 Advisory Councils had been accumulating for decades, providing all kinds of back doors into decision making and policy setting for all kinds of people with all kinds of agendas. Some of them have no doubt established their own little fiefdoms and power networks within the defense establishment(s) and have been effectively routing resources, roadblocking change, and gatekeeping access.

Secretary Austin has cleared the map in one fell swoop. A review of the Pentagon's needs for advisory boards, how they should function, and who should serve on them, will provide a major asset in realigning Pentagon priorities, restoring needed transparency in the "civilian control of the military" required by our Constitution, and hacking away at the thorny bureaucracy that makes the budget process such a nightmare.

I am in awe.

Totally a fan, Sir.

appreciatively,
Bright

[AZ8theist]

22. Doturd's "deep state"....

[Maxheader]

23. AWWWWRIGHT!!!

I was sleeping better after President Biden took over and now I will sleep safer..

[BrightKnight]

24. Have they cleaned out the IRS?

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/charles-rettig-trump-properties/

[Ligyron]

25. Literally kickin' ass and takin' names.

The Biden Administration is just killin' it so far. Keep going!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. Good job

Trump wanted to revive the old spoils system where his good friends get cushy government jobs.

[Blue Owl]

29. The air already feels clearer

[greenjar_01]

30. To the shitcan

Bye bye.