President Donald Trump ordered the removal of three Democrats from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), leaving the agency with one remaining board member.
The terminations were announced Monday by PCLOB spokesman Alan Silverleib. Chair Sharon Bradford Franklin and members Ed Felten and Travis LeBlanc were terminated by the White House as of last Thursday.
"The agency, however, has significant ability to continue functioning with its full staff and remaining Member Beth Williams to continue the Board's important mission, including its advice and oversight functions, and its current projects," read the statement.
The PCLOB was established in 2007 through the 9/11 Commission Act. The board says its "mission is to ensure that the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties."
Franklin's tenure was set to end this week, The New York Times reported, and there was already a vacancy on the board. Felten's tenure was set to end in January 2026 and LeBlanc's in January 2029.
"I regret that the board's partisan shift will ultimately undermine not only the mission of the agency, but public trust and confidence in the ability of the government to honor privacy rights, respect civil liberties, honestly inform the public, and follow the law," LeBlanc said in a statement.
According to the Times, Franklin, LeBlanc and Felten were instructed by Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse to submit their resignations by close of business on Jan. 23, the day after the inauguration. They didn't and hadn't received further word as of Friday before being dismissed by Morse on Monday, according to the report.
"This isn't about me — my term was set to end later this week anyway," Franklin said in a statement. "But I am devastated by the attack on the board's independence and the fact that our agency will have too few members to issue official reports."
PCLOB is part of the executive branch whose members are selected by the sitting president and by congressional leaders of the other party, according to the Times. Members serve six-year terms.
Mark Swanson ✉
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