You’re fired!
That’s what a note from the White House to former Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said in demanding that he resign from the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors.
“On behalf of President Biden, I am writing to request your resignation as a member of the Board of Visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy. Please submit your resignation to me by the close of business today,” read the letter sent Wednesday by the White House personnel office.
“Should we not receive your resignation, your position with the board will be terminated effective 6 p.m. tonight. Thank you,” it added.
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.
My response tonight on #SpicerandCo at 6pm on @newsmax pic.twitter.com/p1SpyipvIm
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) September 8, 2021
Spicer tweeted in response, “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 also noted that the White House press secretary questioned his qualifications.
Of course, it is the president’s prerogative to pick and choose who he wants on presidential boards, and Spicer had a big target on his back, especially because of his Biden-bashing show on Newsmax TV, Spicer & Co. He also has a new book coming out that is also tough on Biden called “Radical Nation: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s Dangerous Plan for America.“
Unclear, however, is whether a president can fire members of congressionally mandated boards before their time is up.
An expert said, “According to U.S. Code, a president designates six persons to the Board of Visitors for three years. They serve for three years unless they die or resign. There is no provision in law for the White House/executive branch to terminate members of a congressionally mandated oversight board.”
Spicer, a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, was proud of his board position with the Naval Academy. “This is a huge honor to join this prestigious group of people on the board,” he said when former President Donald Trump appointed him to the board in July 2019.
