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“A number of board members were fired with a form letter. In my experience, I was very surprised that the White House, at the eleventh hour, adjusts an advisory committee that for 19 years , enjoys non-partisan support with the, ”Michael Bayer, who until today was chairman of the board, told POLITICO.
“This kind of decision will really weigh heavily on people in the future and on their willingness to sit on these external advisory committees if they are to be subjected to political loyalty tests. It is unprecedented. I’m just saddened, ”he added. .
Besides Bayer, the other board members who were laid off are Arnold Punaro, Atul Vashistha, John O’Connor, David Venlet, Paul Dolan, Scott Dorn, David Walker and David Van Slyke.
A Pentagon statement said members’ terms had expired. Still, three former board members who spoke to POLITICO said their tours were not near end.
The layoffs came as a shock to board members, who had received no negative feedback or warnings prior to their dismissal. A former board member lamented the move, stressing that the board “has never been political, ever”.
“You are talking about 15, 20 executives, business leaders, government leaders, who give their time to serve the nation and not even a word of thanks,” said the person, who asked not to be named. “It’s just a simple matter of gratitude and appreciation for people.”
“I had no indication that this was going to happen. It was a standard letter to a lot of people,” Bayer said.
Besides Lewandowski and Bossie, the other new members are Henry Dreifus, Robert McMahon, Cory Mills, Bill Bruner, Christopher Shank, Joseph Schmidt, Keary Miller, Allen Weh and Earl Matthews.
Lewandowski was Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016 and this year he served as senior campaign advisor, where he visited various states to promote his legal challenges to election results; he is also president and chief executive officer of Lewandowski Strategic Advisors.
Bossie, a longtime Conservative agent, was Trump’s deputy campaign manager in 2016 and, more recently, was asked to lead the election challenge effort. Mills is a military veteran and on Twitter he calls himself a “Newsmax insider,” a reference to one of Trump’s favorite TV channels.
“These individuals have proven themselves in their accomplishments in their respective fields and have shown leadership that will serve our department and our nation well,” Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller said in a statement.
The Defense Business Board is made up of more than a dozen industry leaders and academics who volunteer to provide independent business advice to Pentagon executives and are appointed by key Pentagon executives.
The council completed reviews of defense agencies and field activities, as well as a study on the use of data analytics in the private sector and how it applies to DoD. The group also recommended removing the CEO post and putting in place a new alternative, which was passed this week in the final National Defense Authorization Law.
“The DBB is a workhorse board, not a show horse board,” said another former member.
Whitehouse also announced last week to nearly a dozen members of the Defense Policy Board, a similar advisory board of experts outside the government, that their service had ended, Foreign Policy reported. Officials pushed in the effort include former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, as well as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
The board layoffs come less than a month after President Donald Trump ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper, followed by the resignation of the Defense Secretary’s chief of staff and senior intelligence and policy officials .
Bryan Bender contributed to this report.
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