Several Trump administration appointees are making a ruckus over the Biden White House’s request that they resign from advisory positions of the country’s military academies. Officials such as Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, H.R. McMaster, and Russell Vought, indicated that they took offense at the demands for their resignation.
Last week, the Biden administration sent eighteen letters to former Trump administration officials and called for them to resign by close of business or face termination. These Trump-era officials were appointed by the former president in the last months of his presidency and they work on the boards of visitors for the Air Force Academy, Military Academy (i.e. Army), and Naval Academy.
Vought posted on social media platform Twitter, “No, it’s a three year term” to indicate his resistance to Biden’s demands to resign. Conway added to Vought and wrote online, “President Biden, I’m not resigning, but you should.”
Spicer chimed in and told his audience at NewsMax TV that “politics has never entered into my service.” Spicer, according to National Public Radio, announced he is considering legal action against the Biden administration if or when he is terminated.
Biden’s White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said, “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 continued, “But the president’s qualification requirements are not your party registration. They are whether you’re qualified to serve and whether you are aligned with the values of this administration.”
It is unclear whether this is unprecedented or not, but it is clear that former Trump administration officials will try to make times difficult for Biden.
