
DHS dissolves independent advisory council, ousting Trump-era officials
CNN
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday dissolved the Homeland Security Advisory Council, according to a letter obtained by CNN, ousting a board of independent advisers that included Trump-era officials and setting up a plan to reconfigure the council.
"In the service of an orderly transition to a new model for the HSAC, I have ended the term of current HSAC members effective March 26, 2021," the letter to members reads. "I will reconstitute the HSAC in the next few weeks, once the new model has been developed." The unusual move dismisses former Trump-era officials who served on the council, Ken Cuccinelli and Tom Homan, as well as others like NFL Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier, McCrary Institute for Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure Protection Director and the Heritage Foundation's James Carafano. There were more than 30 members of the council, according to the most recent membership list.
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