The U.S. Institute for Peace was among the committees targeted for reduction or removal.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Feb. 19 calling for an elimination or reduction in federal advisory committees.
The order will eliminate “unnecessary governmental entities and federal advisory committees,” or direct them to reduce their activity and expenditures to the minimum level required by law.
It “aims to further decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and promote innovation,” according to a fact sheet provided to The Epoch Times by a White House official.
The order also requires a list of “additional unnecessary government entities and advisory committees” to be submitted to the president by his administration within 30 days.
Trump is expected to sign the order aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, with the goal of limiting the number of agencies and advisory committees to a statutory minimum.
The order targets 12 federal advisory committees for termination or reduction: the Presidio Trust, Inter-American Foundation, U.S. African Development Foundation, Federal Executive Boards, Presidential Management Fellows Program, United States Institute for Peace, Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, Academic Research Council, Community Bank Advisory Council, Credit Union Advisory Council, Health Equity Advisory Committee, and Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID.
The White House scrutinized the Presidio Trust, which manages large portions of the Presidio National Park in San Francisco in former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) district.
The U.S. African Development Foundation, due to its investment in African grassroots enterprises, was named as its priorities run contrary to the president’s “America First” agenda for federal funding.
The administration accused the Institute for Peace of being a “highly-partisan and wasteful organization,” and scrutinized its employees for having donated only to the Democratic Party.
Several of the committees, including the Academic Research Council, the Community Bank Advisory Council, and the Credit Union Advisory Council, are associated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Trump is expected to cite his commitment to restoring “efficiency and accountability in the federal government,” according to White House officials. The order continues the administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government and reduce spending and debt, including his creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The fact sheet suggests that DOGE’s work to cut governmental entities and federal advisory committees “will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending, and streamline government priorities.”
Many Democratic lawmakers have accused DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk, of creating a constitutional crisis by suggesting elimination of appropriations or entire agencies overseen by Congress. An advisory commission itself, DOGE was created by the executive branch and is under its authority.