WASHINGTON (AP) – As his time at the White House draws to a close, President Donald Trump is rewarding some of his supporters and like-minded allies with the privileges and benefits that come with working on federal advisory committees and commissions. On Thursday, Trump announced his intention to nominate two authors who have written books praising him on a panel that makes recommendations on academic research. Another writer who helped write a positive book about the president was elected to the same board a few days ago. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced that the Chinese hawk Michael Pilsbury would become the leader of a group, how does it advise the Pentagon leadership? Improving national security. Pillsbury has served as the president’s external adviser to China. On Tuesday, Trump announced the appointment of his former adviser and 2016 campaign manager, Kellianne Conway, to serve on the U.S. Air Force Academy’s audience. Going to the same group is Heidi Stroop, an ally of Trump’s best adviser Stephen Miller. He served as a White House spokesman for the judiciary, and was told to vacate the building when high-ranking officials learned of efforts to gather information about the department’s current cases and the work of the Department of Electoral Fraud. John F. Transport Secretary Elaine Chao was among those appointed to the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She is married to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R.C. It is a member of the Congressional Trust Finance Board. It is not uncommon for outgoing presidents to make appointments to boards and commissions quickly before stepping down. To go on for three days in office, President Barack Obama appointed senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and National Security Adviser Susan Rice to the Kennedy Central Board. Paul Light, an expert on the federal bureaucracy and a professor at New York University, described the practice as “extraordinary” and said that every administration does it. “But no one would do these things with more politicization than Trump,” Light said. What Trump has filled in recent weeks is usually on advisory committees, in which members go unpaid, yet they are reimbursed for travel expenses. Light describes the levels as “beautiful resume value”. The number of advisory board positions has risen over the years. Light said he believes past administrations have done real work to match people with a kind of credentials and the experience that Congress imagined when creating those boards. He does not see the same effort now. “It’s all repayable and earned aid,” Light said of Trump’s election. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on what the president is seeking to achieve with the appointments and how they will improve the work of the federal government. The most impact of the wave of appointments is with advisory committees at the Pentagon. Pillsbury was appointed to the Security Policy Board. In addition, the Pentagon announced last week that Cory Lewandowski and David Bassi would be working for a separate body of the Defense Business Board. That group provides private sector perspectives outside of the Pentagon leadership. Lewandowski was the first of Trump’s three campaign managers in 2016. Bassi was tasked with assisting in the legal challenges of the campaign to run in this year’s presidential election. They serve the delight of the administration, so President-elect Joe Biden can quickly replace them. In another recent move, Trump chose global warming suspect David Legates to serve on the presidential panel for the National Science Medal. In April, Legates wrote an article: “Real hurricanes, hurricanes, sea levels, floods, droughts and other historical records show no unprecedented trends or changes, no accidental crisis, no evidence that humans have transformed powerful natural forces. Will run. He will be one of 12 scientists and engineers nominated for the Medal of Excellence in Physics, Biology, Mathematics or Engineering. In September, Trump told California leaders battling the worst wildfires associated with global warming that the climate would “begin to cool” again. “You look,” he added. Light said that some choices hit him, as Trump announced: “I’m leaving. I’m going to slap you one more time. … You smiled at me on the way out, but I got the final result.”
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