The Trump administration has begun firing at least some of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s appointees to the board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, including Douglas Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, and other senior Biden White House officials.
“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Mr. Emhoff said in a statement on Tuesday. “Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized. To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous — and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”
Mr. Emhoff is Jewish and an outspoken critic of the rise in antisemitism. His appointment to the council was announced in January; presidential appointments are typically five-year terms.
The other officials who were dismissed include Ron Klain, Mr. Biden’s first chief of staff; Tom Perez, the former labor secretary and senior adviser to Mr. Biden; Susan Rice, the national security adviser to former President Barack Obama and Mr. Biden’s top domestic policy adviser who led a major national strategic effort to counter antisemitism; and Anthony Bernal, a senior adviser to Jill Biden, the former first lady.
Mr. Biden made many appointments over the years, and it was not immediately clear how many others had been fired.
“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,” Mary Sprowls, who works in the White House Presidential Personnel Office, wrote in an email to officials on Tuesday morning. “Thank you for your service.”
The note came less than a week after the observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and at a complicated time for many American Jews, some of whom worry that President Trump is weaponizing genuine fears about antisemitism to suit his political purposes.
“This is a sad day because our mission at the council has always been nonpartisan,” Mr. Perez said in a brief phone call.
Representatives for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the terminations. A spokesman for the museum did not immediately have a comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.
