Eight new appointees for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum board were announced by President Donald Trump in a social media post on Thursday night. These trustees will replace the board members appointed by former President Joe Biden that Trump removed just a few days ago.
“It is my pleasure to announce the appointments of Betty Schwartz, Fred Marcus, Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, Sid Rosenberg, Ariel Abergel, Barbara Feingold, Alex Witkoff, and Robert Garson to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council,” Trump wrote. “This Council has the important task of preserving the memories and stories of the loved ones whose lives were robbed in one of the darkest moments in History. NEVER FORGET!”
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Rosenberg, a personality for New York’s conservative talk radio station WABC, told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, “Finding out about this honor while standing in Israel — on my third mission here since October 7th — was surreal. I’ve always used my voice to fight antisemitism, to defend Israel, and to speak the truth when too many stay silent.”
They replace former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Biden’s first chief of staff Ron Klain, former labor secretary and Biden senior adviser Tom Perez, national security adviser to former President Barack Obama and Biden’s top domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, and the former First Lady Jill Biden’s senior adviser Anthony Bernal. All of these appointments were just announced earlier this year in January.
The council is traditionally comprised of up to 68 members, with 55 appointed by the sitting president, 5 appointed by the Senate, and another 5 appointed by the House. An additional three members were selected by the Departments of State, Interior and Education. Members usually serve five-year terms, with an expiry of 11 members each year. When Trump removed the Biden appointees, however, the council was left with only 41 members.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Council or the museum’s board of trustees meets twice each year to oversee the institution’s policies and practices. The board plans nationwide Days of Remembrance and spearheads recommendations outlines by the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, which was started under former President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is a nonprofit federal institution that educates and memorializes the lives of millions killed in the Holocaust. The museum was authorized by Congress in 1980 and opened in 1993. It receives funding from both federal and private contributions.