President Donald Trump said Monday that he had ordered the “immediate dismissal” of the boards of visitors at the nation’s military academies, including the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, claiming they have been “infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues.”

Trump, who has been consolidating power and challenging governmental norms in the three weeks since he took office, made the announcement on his Truth Social platform.

It was unclear if Trump’s action only referred to presidential appointees, or if he was seeking to purge all members of the boards at the Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Trump has yet to say whom he would appoint as replacement members.

“We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards. We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.

The Naval Academy declined to comment on Trump’s actions.

In Annapolis, members of the board of visitors are responsible for curriculum and instruction, fiscal affairs and other matters relating to the Naval Academy. It consists of 15 members: six appointed by the president, three appointed by the vice president, four appointed by the speaker of the house, one designated by the Senate Armed Services Committee and one by the House Armed Services Committee. The president receives an annual written report of the board’s findings and recommendations.

Among the board’s newest members is U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth, a freshman Democrat from Maryland who was a congressional appointee. A member of Elfreth’s press team told The Baltimore Banner that their “current understanding” was that Trump’s firings only applied to presidential appointees, meaning the congresswoman is expected to remain on the board.

Other congressional appointees include U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Debra Fischer of Nebraska, both Republicans. The president did not specify whether his complaints extended to board members of his own party.

Presidential appointees on the board include Jack McCain, a Naval Academy alum and son of the late Arizona Senator John McCain, and Amy McGrath, the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps. The elder McCain was a Republican who graduated from the academy and was a sharp critic of Trump; McGrath, a Kentucky Democrat, ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2020.

This is not the first time that a president has dismissed members of the board early.

In 2021, President Joe Biden fired board members appointed by Trump after the Republican tapped political allies in the final months of his first term. Sean Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary in 2017, briefly served on the Naval Academy’s board before being ousted by Biden.

Last month, Trump, who has long faced questions about his views on race and has been increasingly leaning into an anti-woke agenda, signed an executive order mandating that the secretaries of defense and homeland security review the leadership, instruction and curriculum of military academies in an effort to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices and initiatives.

The Naval Academy and other military college are now prohibited from “promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating” what the Trump administration calls “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories.”

West Point disbanded roughly a dozen identity-based clubs to abide by the executive order, including the Society of Black Engineers at West Point and the pro-LGBTQ club, Spectrum.

In a statement to The Banner last week, a Naval Academy spokesperson shared that leadership was “reviewing all clubs and extracurricular activities to ensure alignment with applicable executive orders,” but that no clubs had been disbanded.

Previously scheduled events at the Annapolis military academy are “being reviewed on an individual basis” to ensure alignment with Trump’s executive order, and some events have been postponed to allow time to update the school’s review process and evaluate event details. Additionally, Naval Academy faculty, staff and students are no longer allowed to include gender-identifying pronouns on any email signature line.

“We remain fully committed to continuing our mission of developing ethical leaders of character who are ready to answer our nation’s call to serve, and when required, fight and win our nation’s wars,” the spokesperson concluded.

About the Education Hub This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.