White House Asks Donald Trump-Era Military Academy Council To Resign Or Be Dismissed

JAKARTA - The White House said on Wednesday it announced it was asking 18 Trump administration officials to resign from the military academy's board, saying President Joe Biden would ask them to be "in harmony with the values of this administration".

The eighteen officers, six each on the Air Force Academy Board, Military Academy, and Naval Academy, were asked to resign, the White House said.

If they don't resign from their current positions, they will be dismissed by 6 p.m., the White House said.

Those asked to step down include Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser under Donald Trump, as well as Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman under the former Republican president.

"I will let others evaluate whether they think Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer and others are qualified to serve on this board", White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a daily press statement.

"The presidential qualification requirement is not your party registration. It is whether you are qualified to serve and whether you are aligned with the values of this administration".

Meanwhile, Conway in an open letter to President Joe Biden on Twitter wrote, "I'm not resigning, but you should".

As for Spicer, who serves on the US Naval Academy Board, said at his Newsmax event Wednesday, he will not step down. "I will not be submitting my resignation, and I will join the lawsuit against this", Spicer said.

Likewise with Donald Trump's former budget chief, Russ Vought also said he would not quit. "No (will resign). This (position) is for a period of three years", he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, CNN reports, the firing of Trump-era officials from military advisory boards comes after the Pentagon recently restarted another advisory board, having fired hundreds of people appointed from other boards in February. In November, just months before he was set to leave office, Donald Trump fired several long-serving members of the Defense Policy Council before their term expired. Members usually serve three-year terms.

To note, the Military Academy Council provides advice and recommendations to the President of the United States on matters including those relating to morals, discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, and academic methods of the academy, according to a 2020 notice on the Federal Register.