Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Removes Hundreds of Pentagon Advisory Board Members
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ousted hundreds of members from the Pentagon’s advisory committees, removing last-minute appointees by the Trump administration, the Department of Defense (DOD) revealed Tuesday.
Austin fired all members serving on DOD advisory boards and also ordered “the immediate suspension of all advisory committee operations until the review is completed,” effective Feb. 16. The boards are on hold while the Pentagon completes a “zero-based review” of at least 42 defense advisory committees, according to a Jan. 30 memo.
The review includes the more visible Defense Policy Board, Defense Science Board, and Defense Business Board, as well as former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller’s four choices to serve on the congressionally mandated commission tasked with renaming Confederate-named military bases, a senior Defense official told reporters.
