Donald Trump Fired Everyone On The HIV/AIDS Advisory Counsel

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Trump Administration Fires Remaining Members Of HIV/AIDS Advisory Council

The remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were all fired unexpectedly this week. Just months after a a few members resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s position on health policies, the White House decided to go ahead and dismiss the rest of the members via a letter.

The PACHA council consists of unpaid members that have advised the White House on HIV/AIDS policies since its founding in 1995. The group is designed to include “doctors, members of industry, members of the community and, very importantly, people living with HIV,” explained Scott Schoettes, who is a lawyer with the LGBT rights organization Lambda Legal. “

Schoettes was among the group of fed up members who quit in June,  going out with an unapologetic comment in Newsweek, saying: “The Trump Administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, and — most concerning — pushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease.”

The executive director of the council, Kaye Hayes, confirmed in a statement that all remaining 10 council members had received letters on Wednesday informing them that the administration was terminating all positions.