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The Trump administration terminated members of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff.
Emhoff condemned the politicisation of Holocaust remembrance, emphasising its danger and dishonour to victims.
The White House plans to appoint new members supportive of Israel, sparking criticism of the move.
The Trump administration has terminated members of the board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, including Doug Emhoff, the husband of former vice-president Kamala Harris.
“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Emhoff said in a statement posted to social media.
“Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicised. To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous – and it dishonours the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”
The White House confirmed to The Washington Post that President Donald Trump is planning to appoint new members to the board, though it stopped short of confirming the reports that it terminated members of the current board.
The Holocaust Museum in Washington is seen in August 2020. Photo / The Washington Post
“President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honour the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Post.
On Tuesday morning (local time), some board members received atermination email from Mary Sprowls of the White House presidential personnel office. According to board member Alan D. Solomont, who received the email, it read: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”
Emhoff, who is Jewish, has been outspoken against the rise in antisemitism. Other terminated board members included Jon Finer, the former deputy national security adviser, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation. Both Emhoff and Finer were among the members appointed to the board by President Joe Biden in January 2025.
The Holocaust Memorial Museum is a nonprofit federal institution funded by federal appropriations and private contributions. It attracts millions of visitors every year who learn about and memorialise the millions of people who were killed in the Holocaust. The museum was first authorised by Congress in 1980 and opened in 1993.
The board of trustees, known as the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, typically meets twice a year. The council traditionally has 68 members, including 55 members appointed by the president, as well as 10 members added by the Senate and House of Representatives. Three more members were appointed by the Departments of State, Interior and Education. Members usually serve five-year terms, with 11 members’ terms expiring each year.
“At this time of high antisemitism and Holocaust distortion and denial, the Museum is gratified that our visitation is robust and demand for Holocaust education is increasing,” the museum said in a statement to the Post. “We look forward to continuing to advance our vitally important mission as we work with the Trump administration.”
Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, condemned the terminations in a post on X: “This administration appears to be doing everything in its power to turn antisemitism into a political wedge – and it makes Jews, and everyone, less safe.”
Andrew Weinstein, a former board member at the museum, disapproved, too. “The primary mission of the museum is to advance knowledge of the Holocaust and preserve the memory of its victims,” he wrote on Bluesky. “Removing Biden appointees is petty and vindictive and distracts from this important work.”
The Trump administration’s decision to fire board members has been a running theme amid the president’s first 100 days back in the White House. In February, Trump purged the Kennedy Centre’s board members appointed by Biden and made himself the board’s chairman in what many have described as a “takeover”.
In March, the president’s sweeping executive order aimed to eliminate what he considered “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution. The order singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, drawing outrage from Democrats.
The Trump administration also attempted to terminate board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in April. The email sent by Trump officials to the Holocaust museum’s board members was an almost line-for-line copy of what was sent to the CPB, a non-profit organisation created by Congress that provides funding to public broadcasters such as NPR and PBS.
On Tuesday, the CPB sued the Trump administration, alleging that the president does not have the authority to fire board members there because it’s not a government agency subject to the decisions of the executive branch.
In a statement to the Post, the Trump administration said it does have the authority to make these decisions: “As numerous courts have repeatedly affirmed, the Constitution gives President Trump the power to remove personnel who exercise his executive authority,” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement. “The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
Herb Scribner is a breaking news reporter for features at The Washington Post. Praveena Somasundaram is a reporter on The Washington Post’s General Assignment desk.
