Trump could announce tariffs on steel and aluminum today
Trump said in a post on Truth Social this morning that he’s dismissing members of the boards of visitors for U.S. military academies.
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” Trump wrote, without elaborating.
“I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard,” he said. “We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards. We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump didn’t provide additional details or specific reasons for the dismissals.
The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
It’s unclear if Trump has the power to dismiss all the members of the boards, who are appointed not just by him, but also by the vice president, speaker of the House and congressional committees.
The board for the Air Force Academy, for example, has six members appointed by the president, three by the vice president, four by the House speaker and then lawmakers designated by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. That board includes the ranking members on those committees, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Adam Smith, D-Wash.
The board of visitors at West Point includes several presidential appointees including former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a Republican, who led the Pentagon under former President Barack Obama. He has made critical comments about Trump in the past, including that he’s an “embarrassment.”
The Naval Academy’s board of visitors includes retired Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, a Democrat who has previously run for Congress, as well as John S. McCain IV, one of the sons of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
The boards consider issues including the morale, curriculum, discipline and physical equipment at each academy.
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