Trump Team Removes Members of Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board, Business Board

The Pentagon building is seen in Washington in a file photograph. AFP via Getty Images

Members of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Business Board and Defense Policy Board were replaced, according to the Pentagon chief.

Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller, in a statement, confirmed there was a change to the Defense Policy Board. Miller did not provide the names of the members who were removed—or how many.

“I am grateful to the departing board members, many of whom have served for decades. As we adapt the Department for great power competition, I look forward to naming new board members in the coming days,” Miller, who was named to his position about a month ago, said in the statement confirming the changes.

On Friday, Miller told news outlets that members of the Defense Business Board were replaced.

“I’m proud to welcome each of these new members to the Defense Business Board and I look forward to their contributions to help guide the Department’s business efforts in the coming years,” he said, without elaborating on who was replaced. “These individuals have a proven record of achievement within their respective fields and have demonstrated leadership that will serve our Department, and our nation well.”

A Pentagon news release said the removed members “had been serving in expired positions.”

The Defense Business Board provides Pentagon leaders with advice on business management, while the Defense Policy Board is a federal advisory committee.

The Defense Policy Board’s website only shows David McCormick, James Talent, and Paulina Dobriansky. According to a report from Fox News last week, longtime Defense Policy Board members such as former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, and about 10 others were removed.

“As part of long-considered changes, we can confirm that several members of the Department’s Defense Policy Board have been removed,” a U.S. Defense official told the news outlet in late November. The Epoch Times has not been able to verify the claim and has reached out for comment.

The head of the Pentagon’s Defeat ISIS Task Force, Christopher Maier, also resigned.

“Today, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller accepted the resignation of Christopher Maier, the Director of the DoD Defeat-ISIS Task Force,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement to CNN on Nov. 30. It added that “these changes recognize the success of the military fight to destroy the so-called physical caliphate of ISIS and reflect DoD’s commitment to institutionalize efforts to counter ISIS and integrate efforts with allies and partners within our counterterrorism and regional policy offices.”

And a few days after the Nov. 3 election, former Pentagon chief Mark Esper was fired by President Donald Trump, who replaced him with Miller.