Steve Blank, one of the few remaining members of an advisory panel of outside experts for the Defense Department, on Monday resigned, saying the Trump administration’s abrupt termination of more than half of the board members has “put the nation’s safety and security at risk,” CNN reports.
"The abrupt termination of more than half of the Defense Business Board and their replacement with political partisans has now put the nation's safety and security at risk," Blank wrote in his letter of resignation to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
"My service to the Department of Defense was a service to the country, not to a party. I hereby tender my resignation,” he added.
The Trump administration on Friday pushed out nine of the board members and replaced them with Trump allies, including former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Army veteran and Newsmax columnist Cory Mills and former campaign staffer David Bossie.
The move came less than a month after the Pentagon was rocked by the firings of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Joseph Kernan, as well as key staffers on their teams.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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