In a sweeping move on his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump dismissed former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and several other key Biden-era appointees from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council—an action rich in symbolism, political payback, and pointed criticism of the prior administration’s record on combating antisemitism.
The firings, confirmed Tuesday, included not only Emhoff—husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris—but also Ron Klain, Tom Perez, Susan Rice, and Anthony Bernal, all of whom held influential roles in shaping the Biden administration’s domestic and strategic policies, including its now-controversial approach to antisemitism.
The move to oust Emhoff and others wasn’t just about replacing ceremonial appointments. It was a calculated political reset, underscoring Trump’s stated commitment to forcefully confronting antisemitism, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, which triggered a global surge in antisemitic violence and protests—many of them on U.S. college campuses.
While Emhoff had been the public face of the Biden administration’s antisemitism “strategy”, critics—including those in the Trump administration—saw that plan as watered down, overly cautious, and reluctant to define virulent anti-Israel rhetoric as antisemitic.
“This is not just a changing of the guard—it’s a rejection of the soft-pedaled, optics-first approach to fighting antisemitism,” said one administration insider.
Emhoff, upon learning of his removal, issued a statement warning against politicizing Holocaust remembrance:
“Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized. To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous—and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”
But to Trump supporters and many conservative Jewish advocates, the politicization began under Biden, when the White House shied away from fully adopting the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism, in favor of a “broader” framework that critics argued gave cover to anti-Israel agitators.
What makes this reshuffling particularly notable is that Trump is using a legal precedent set by Biden himself. When Biden took office, he fired numerous Trump appointees from advisory boards and councils, including prominent conservatives like Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway. That purge was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, opening the door for Trump to do the same—and more.
“Now all of these Biden appointees are paying the price for what Biden did,” said Spicer, pointing out the clear tit-for-tat.
In essence, Biden broke the precedent, and Trump is now exploiting the precedent.
