The Biden administration on Wednesday threatened to remove Mehmet Oz and Herschel Walker from a federal advisory committee if they didn’t resign, setting the stage for a public fight with two high-profile Senate GOP candidates.
The celebrity doctor and former football star were each sent a letter Wednesday asking them to resign by the end of the day, warning that failure to step down would result in termination, a White House official told NBC News. Oz and Walker were both reappointed to two-year terms on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition by former President Donald Trump in December 2020.
The Biden administration doesn’t permit candidates for federal office to serve on boards and commissions, the White House official said.
Oz entered Pennsylvania’s Senate race in November, and Walker announced his candidacy in August for a Senate seat in Georgia.
In a video posted to his Twitter account Wednesday, Oz insisted he would not resign from the advisory post.
“I am beyond grateful to President Trump for appointing me to this very prestigious and important position. I am also grateful to my colleagues on the committee and council, and the amazing accomplishments we were able to achieve. I’ve got no intentions, my friends, of resigning. None,” he said in the video.
“If President Biden wants to politicize health, he’ll have to fire me. Let Americans see how truly petty and political he truly is,” Oz added.
NBC News has reached out to Walker’s campaign for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House announced plans to name chef José Andrés and WNBA player Elena Delle Donne as co-chairs of the presidential council where Walker has been serving as chair and Oz has been a council member.
In a statement on Twitter, Donne said she was honored by the appointment and to serve “alongside someone as generous, kind, and talented” as Andrés.
“I look forward to building awareness around the best ways to take care of our minds and bodies,” she wrote.
Oz and Walker are not the first advisory panel members asked to step down by the Biden administration.
In September, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and former White House budget director Russ Vought were asked to resign from their positions on advisory boards. The move sparked lawsuits from Spicer and Vought.
Kristen Welker contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
