Including Seat Held by Obama Crony Susan Rice
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has formally terminated the service of every member sitting on the Department of Defense’s advisory committees.
Based on the information available on the website as of Thursday, the now-defunct panels included several well-known Democrats and Bush-era Republicans.
- Janine Davidson (Chair) – Former Under Secretary of the Navy under Obama. A staunch Democrat and longtime proponent of Obama-era military reforms, now steering Pentagon policy advice.
- Michèle Flournoy – Held major Pentagon roles under Clinton and Obama; often discussed as a potential Secretary of Defense under Hillary Clinton or Biden.
- Colin Kahl – National Security Advisor to then-VP Biden, later Under Secretary of Defense for Policy under Biden. Key Biden ally and architect of many failed Middle East strategies during the Obama years.
- Susan Rice – National Security Advisor under Obama; Domestic Policy Advisor under Biden. Central to Obama’s foreign policy blunders and later helped craft Biden’s radical domestic agenda.
- Dana Shell Smith – Career diplomat; served as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar under Obama.
- Eric Edelman – Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under George W. Bush; strong neoconservative background.
- Jon Huntsman Jr. – Served under George W. Bush (Ambassador to Singapore) and Obama (Ambassador to China); briefly served under Trump (Ambassador to Russia).
- Kori Schake – Held roles under Bush; associated with AEI and other think tanks; known for hawkish, internationalist views.