Washington, April 29 — U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed several appointees of former President Joe Biden to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, in a move that has drawn criticism from Jewish leaders and former administration officials.
Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president and a prominent advocate in the Biden administration’s campaign against antisemitism, denounced the decision on Monday, warning against politicizing Holocaust remembrance.
“Let me be clear: Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized,” Emhoff said in a statement. “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.”
Other appointees removed include former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and former domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, who led the development of the first comprehensive National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism in 2023.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since taking office in January, Trump has systematically removed a wide range of Biden-era appointees across federal agencies, including in typically nonpartisan positions. While Biden dismissed some Trump holdovers after taking office in 2021 — notably 18 members of military academy advisory boards — the scale of Trump’s actions has been broader.
The Holocaust Memorial Council, which oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., is traditionally considered a bipartisan body dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and educating future generations.
