One of President Donald Trump’s last decisions in 2017 was to fire the remaining 10 council members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Members of this committee, founded in 1995, serve as volunteers and advise the current sitting president on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

In a statement on the matter, Kaye Hayes, the current executive director of the Council, said that the move by Trump’s administration was part of a routine between-administration shake-up, and that dismissed members were welcome to apply to be on the newly formed council:

Changing the makeup of federal advisory committee members is a common occurrence during administration changes. The Obama administration dismissed the George W. Bush administration appointees to PACHA in order to bring in new voices. All PACHA members are eligible to apply to serve on the new council that will be convened in 2018.

Previous council members told the Washington Post that past appointees were able to complete their entire terms, an opportunity not afforded to those let go this week. The move to terminate all current members of PACHA followed the June 2017 resignation of six council members.

Here are reactions on social media to the news that Trump fired the remaining council members.

Trump fired every single member of his HIV/AIDS council without telling them why. Not only that, he did it in a letter sent via FedEx. He didn’t even pick up the phone & call them. Laziest & most cruel president in the history of the United States-and obviously a complete coward. — Scott Dworkin (@funder) December 29, 2017

More extreme cruelty and the rule of ignorance from @realDonaldTrump. administration fires all members of HIV/AIDS advisory council – The Washington Post https://t.co/VLpjchPurM — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) December 30, 2017

POTUS’s decision to fire remaining members of the HIV/AIDS council sends a concerning message. We should be advancing the fight to eradicate this disease. The US is becoming a backseat player on some of our world’s most challenging issues. https://t.co/V4tKLceV0R — Bill Keating (@USRepKeating) December 29, 2017

Trump fired all the members on his HIV/AIDS council. Trump fired them by FedEx letters, a few days after Christmas. Donald Trump shows us who he is on a daily basis, he is a vile, ignorant, sociopath. — Jason Elias (@Zebop) December 29, 2017

Former member Scott Schoettes argued in a Newsweek editorial and signed by five other former PACHA members that “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 … Because we do not believe the Trump Administration is listening to — or cares — about the communities we serve as members of PACHA, we have decided it is time to step down.”

The deadline for nominating new members to the council is Jan. 2, 2018.

What did you think of Trump’s decision to fire the remaining 10 council members of PACHA? Are you worried that Trump’s administration has no AIDS/HIV strategy? Let us know in the comments section.

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