Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin purges advisory boards stocked by former President Trump

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demanded the resignation of hundreds of volunteer advisers to the Pentagon after former President Donald Trump had stocked the panels in recent months, senior Defense department officials said Tuesday.

Austin called for their resignations by Feb. 16 or they will be terminated, according to Defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The work of at least 42 committees, which provide advice to Pentagon leadership on issues such business practices, personnel issues and policy, will be reviewed and changes recommended by June 1, one official said.

Among the appointees to the boards in recent months were former Trump campaign officials Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie. Austin became alarmed about the frenetic and unprecedented pace of appointments made at the end of Trump's term, and deemed the fairest way to address his concern was to ask each of the hundreds of employees to resign, the official said.

It cost several million dollars a year to run the commissions and boards, a second senior official said.

One of the more than 42 boards affected is the one established by Congress to advise the Pentagon on changing names of bases that honor Confederate generals and banning imagery and other names associated with the Confederacy. Trump had resisted making such changes. Austin will appoint four new members to the board.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin purges advisers appointed by Trump