'They stood silent while their boss supported an insurrection': Psaki insists it's Biden's right to purge Trump picks from military boards as Afghan vet joins Conway and Spicer in refusing to resign
Jen Psaki said Thursday Joe Biden has the right to fire Trump-appointed military academy advisory board members because they ‘stood silent’ while the former president’s supporters stormed the Capitol.
'There are some people, of course, on these boards who have supported or stood by silently while their former boss supported an insurrection,' the White House press secretary told CNN's New Day. 'That's not really okay with us.'
She also insisted that every president has the 'right' to appoint people they feel are aligned with their values on these advisory boards, even though they are non-partisan.
'That's what's taking place here. It's not personal,' she insisted.
Meaghan Mobbs, a West Point Board of Visitors member among those asked to resign, said Thursday this is another example of the politicalization of institutions that should be void of political influence and is an 'unprecedented' move by the Biden administration.
'The reason why I'm refusing to resign is it's imperative that we do not politicize our military academies,' Mobbs, an Afghanistan War veteran, told CNN.
'This advisory board itself is remarkably nonpartisan,' she added. 'It's one of the last places in America where those things are kind of checked at the door.'
White House Press Secretary said Thursday that the administration's decision to ask for the resignation of all Trump-appointees on the military academy advisory boards is because they 'stood silent' as the former president's supporters attempted insurrection
Mobbs is one of the Trump appointees refusing to resign, along with former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer and former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway.
'It's important, in this moment now, to accept what's happening, because this has not been happened (sic) before,' Mobbs said. 'This is an unprecedented move by the president to dissolve all boards, all appointees and label them all as being unqualified.'
Psaki asserted to CNN's John Berman: 'No one is looking to have a battle here.'
'There's a span of individuals on these boards,' she continued. 'It's really not more complicated than the president, his cabinet and team, wanting to be able to appoint a fresh layer of people.'
'We're confident in our right to make new decisions about who serves on these boards,' Psaki said.
Multiple people appointed to military academy advisory boards by Trump are refusing to resign after the Biden Administration told them to quit or they'd be fired.
Spicer, one of those axed, decried the other 17 terminations as fellow appointee Conway wrote in a tweet that Biden should resign instead. A third board member, Russ Vought - former director of the Office of Management and Budget - asserted that he would carry out his three-year term.
Speaking on his Newsmax show Wednesday night, Spicer said: 'I'm announcing for tonight for the first time that I will not be submitting my resignation and I will be joining a lawsuit to fight this.'
The three were among the 18 that President Biden told to either resign or be fired at 6pm, provoking accusations that his administration was politicizing what should be non-partisan advisory groups.
Six of the appointees asked to resign serve with the Air Force Academy, six serve with the Military Academy and six serve with the Naval Academy.
Other members include, H.R. McMaster, Heidi Stirrup, Michael Wynne, Jack Keane, Douglas Macgregor, Guy Swan III, David Urban, Jonathan Hiler, John Coale, Anthony Parker and Joseph Walsh.
Meaghan Mobbs, a West Point Board of Visitors member among those asked to resign, said Thursday this is another example of the politicalization of institutions that should be void of political influence and is an 'unprecedented' move by the Biden administration
The Biden administration is demanding the resignations of 18 officials appointed by former President Trump to military service academy boards including (from l-r) Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway and former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster
David Urban, Gen Jake Keane, and Russ Vought were all sent letters demanding they resign or be dismissed at 6pm on Wednesday evening
The remaining three have not yet been publicly named. Asked by Politico if he was among those asked to resign, Sebastian Gorka, who Trump named to the National Security Education Board, responded in a text by saying, 'Hey CuckBoy go lick some Democrat's boots.'
The boards include presidential appointees and members of Congress who are tasked with advising on everything from morale and discipline to the curriculum.
Speaking on NewsMax, Spicer claimed on his show that the removal of the Trump appointees is because 'maybe they want to inject liberal ideology like critical race theory into the curriculum, and they want to ensure there's no pushback.'
He also said, 'Remember back during the inauguration when President Biden said I'm going to be the president for all people, trump voters, everyone else? Yeah. Where'd that go? Pretty out the window pretty much, huh? At a time when the administration's dealing with you know COVID, Afghanistan the effects of hurricane Ida. What are their priorities? apparently they're prioritizing flying to California to campaign for Governor Newsom and firing veterans from service academies.'
He continued, 'To put this in context. The Biden administration came into office and immediately ordered a stand down and a review for all of the military academies for some unknown still unknown reason. For almost a year we've been unable to meet, and then we get this email today. You have to ask why why would they want zero oversight during a challenging period where the academies are dealing with COVID. They're navigating funding issues.'
Spicer then spoke directly to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who named him when addressing the resignations and said the appointees should be qualified and 'aligned with the values' of the Biden administration.
Spicer, a US Navy veteran, responded by saying, 'When you wear the uniform, you serve the commander-in-chief. We take an oath as officers to the Constitution, not to a party.'
He added, 'Each of us chooses how we're going to serve this country. I won't ever question how anyone chooses to do that. I won't question how you choose to do that, Jen. But don't you dare ever minimize or question my service to this nation. You got it?'
Russ Vought, who was director the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, shared a letter from Catherine Russell, director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, demanding his resignation from the Board of Visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy.
'Please submit your resignation to me by the close of business today,' it said.
'Should we not receive your resignation, your position with the board will be terminated effective 6:00pm tonight. Thank you.'
He responded: 'No. It's a three year term.'
Jonathan Hiler, a Navy academy alumnus who served as director of legislative affairs for Vice President Mike Pence, also shared his letter on Twitter and wrote, 'I am not resigning. As an alum and former naval officer, I believe developing leaders capable of defending our country's interests at sea — USNA's mission — is not something that should be consumed by partisan politics. Apparently, President Biden feels differently. @WhiteHouse.'
While John Coale didn't respond to the resignation order, his wife and TV host Greta Van Susteren tweeted her husband's letter and wrote, 'This is lousy . . . [Coale] merely wanted to help – this is a non partisan Board of Americans volunteering to help.'
She added in a follow-up tweet, 'And by the way, both political parties do this and it is rotten . . how do Administrations expect to foster non-partisanship among Americans when they act partisan with volunteer boards that have no power to effectual [sic] American policy?'
Conway hit back at President Biden in a tweet on Wednesday and wrote, 'I'm not resigning but you should.'
She accused Biden of trying to distract from political crises that were engulfing his administration and said his request was a break from presidential norms.
'It certainly seems petty and political, if not personal,' she wrote in a letter posted on Twitter. 'The result is that faithful and \willing public servants will be discouraged or thwarted from service. Our service academies risk being further politicized and polarized.'
Meaghan Mobbs, a West Point graduate and former Trump adviser on military family issues, wrote in her response: 'It is tragic that this great institution is now being subjected to and hijacked by partisan action that serve no purpose and no greater good.
'Make no mistake, the move to terminate duly appointed presidential appointees sets a dangerous precedent for future administrations and undermines our institutions.'
Trump stacked a number of advisory groups with loyalists shortly before the end of his term.
They included appointing his former impeachment lawyer Pam Bondi to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and leading conservative Matt Schlapp to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board.
Since then, the Biden administration has been working its way through the appointments, removing what they see as Trump loyalists.
A source said other members asked to resign from the West Point Board of Visitors are former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keane; former Pentagon senior adviser Douglas Macgregor; former U.S. Army North commander Guy Swan III; and West Point graduate David Urban.
McMaster is due to be honored in a West Point ceremony at the weekend as a 2021 Distinguished Graduate.
The White House defended the move on Wednesday as Press Secretary Jen Psaki fielded criticism that the administration risked politicizing the boards.
'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 said.
'But the president's qualification requirements are not your party registration, they are whether you're qualified to serve and whether you're aligned with the values of this administration.'
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