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Among those removed from their roles include former White House counselorKellyanne Conway, press secretary Sean Spicer and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, per the report.
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“The President’s objective is what any president’s objective is: to ensure you have nominees and people serving on these boards who are qualified to serve on them and who are aligned with your values,” Psaki, 42, told reporters.
Instead, she said PresidentJoe Bidenis focused on working with those that foster similar values to his own.
“The President’s qualification requirements are not your party registration; they are whether you’re qualified to serve and whether you’re aligned with the values of this administration,” she added.
When asked about the potential politicization of these positions, Psaki said, “I will let others evaluate whether they think Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer and others were qualified or not political to serve on these boards.”
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The former White House counselor said the move seemed “petty and political, if not personal” and suggested the president was attempting to “distract” from the current news cycle, including his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“I’m not resigning, but you should,” Conway ended her letter.
Spicer, 49, took a similar approachin his criticism of the Biden administration’s request. On Twitter, theDancing with the Starsalum accused the president of playing politics while Americans remain stranded in Afghanistan.
“Instead of focusing on the stranded Americans left in #Afghanistan, President Biden is trying to terminate the Trump appointees to the Naval Academy, West Point and Air Force Academy,” he wrote.
Sean Spicer.Getty
Later that evening, Spicer announced he too would not resign from his role on the Board of Visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy during his showSpicer and Co.on Newsmax. He also promised to join a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the “unprecedented move.”
Critics have called out the irony of Conway’s claims that Biden is “breaking presidential norms,” noting that President Trump was known to break more than a few presidential norms himself, andfrequently oustedthose who he deemed to be disloyal during his own tenure in office.
source: people.com
