Former US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff listens during a panel discussion with women entrepreneurs during his visit to Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver, Colorado, US, March 11, 2022. Photo: Jason Connolly/Pool via REUTERS

The Trump administration has dismissed many of former President Joe Biden’s appointees to the board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, including Douglas Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Emhoff, who is Jewish and served as second gentleman of the US from 2021 to early 2025, lashed out at President Donald Trump’s decision to fire him and others appointed by Biden from the board, arguing his removal was political and undermined the mission of Holocaust remembrance.

“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Emhoff said in a statement on Tuesday. “Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized. 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.”

Emhoff has been outspoken against antisemitism. He became more outspoken about his Jewish identity in the aftermath of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Beyond Emhoff, the Trump team also removed other members of the Biden administration, including Ron Klain, Biden’s first chief of staff; Tom Perez, former labor secretary and senior adviser to the president; Susan Rice, who served as Biden’s top domestic policy adviser; and Anthony Bernal, a senior adviser to former First Lady Jill Biden. 

The Biden White House announced their appointments in January. Presidential appointments typically last 5 years. 

“President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

Former US Rep. David Cicilline (D-MD), a member of the board who was also dismissed Tuesday, called Trump’s decision “deeply disappointing.”

“The museum’s work has always been nonpartisan and should remain so. It is meant to challenge us all to think critically and clearly about our role in society, to confront antisemitism and all other forms of hate,” he continued. 

Since returning to the White House in January, the Trump administration has moved to overhaul cultural institutions under the administration of the federal government. In February, Trump fired the entire board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and installed himself as the new chairman. In March, Trump signed an executive order mandating a review of the programming offered in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.