Questions Emerge Over America250 Direction and Leadership After Executive Director’s Removal

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We are nine months and eight days away from America's Semiquincentennial, the plans for which began when Barack Obama signed the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016. That act created America250, the official committee tasked with national celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

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Back in July, President Trump told a crowd in Iowa, "Every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites is going to have special events in honor of ‘America250’ and I even think we’re going to have a UFC fight" to mark the occasion.

With the milestone looming ever bigger on the horizon, there has been a major shake-up at the commission. The executive director of America250, Ari Abergel, was fired from his position on Monday. A spokesperson for America250 claimed Abergel "initiated a security breach of a commission social-media account, attempted to procure the resignations of multiple commissioners by misrepresenting himself as acting on behalf of Congressional leadership, and engaged in multiple other serious and repeated breaches of authority and trust" according to the Daily Mail.

Abergel has said his termination came as a result of a social media post honoring TPUSA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at a campus event in Orem, Utah, on September 10. Abergel reported that after the assassination, he reached out to America250 Chair Rosie Rios, a Biden appointee, about issuing a statement honoring Kirk.

"I got no reply from Rios," Abergel said. Instead, Rios called a meeting with a PR firm. Abergel received a phone call from someone with knowledge of this meeting who told Abergel that Rios "freaked out" over his request for a post honoring Kirk and called such a move "political and divisive." Abergel said he then reached out to Rios again and received no response.

As executive director, Abergel said he had access to social media accounts, so he went ahead and posted a picture of Kirk on Instagram with a caption that read, "America is in mourning. God bless Charlie Kirk." As of September 24, that post is still visible on America250's Instagram account.

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"It's the most liked post on the page," Abergel noted, adding, "It shows the difference in where heads were on that."

On the afternoon of Friday, September 12, Abergel said his email stopped working and his work phone was shut off. "I received an email from [America250] counsel that said I was locked out of IT," Abergel said. He also stated he was denied access to the office, and the office locks were later changed to keep him out. The following Monday, America250 staff "worked from home," Abergel said.

For the next week, Abergel said he remained on the payroll, but classified this as a "suspension." During that time, the only communication he received was from America250's counsel, who formally requested that he resign or be terminated.

"Knowing I did nothing wrong, I said they could fire me," Abergel said. On Sunday, September 21, Abergel was on his way to the Charlie Kirk memorial in Arizona when he received another email from counsel advising him he would be fired on Monday, September 22.

In a statement emailed to Townhall, a spokesperson for America250 also provided more "background" information.

Ari's termination concerned the fact that the Commission weeks ago issued a written directive that, among other things, removed its website and social media platforms from Ari's authority and transferred control of and responsibility for those assets to another Commission employee.

Despite that clear written directive, Ari logged into the account, changed the password and its two-factor authentication contact, effectively locking the Commission out of the account.

When asked about this, Abergel pointed out he was still executive director at the time and felt it was within his authority to make these changes. "If it were really an issue, they would have fired me then," he noted, saying these directives came down in August. 

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Abergel also addressed the accusation that he was "misrepresenting himself as acting on behalf of Congressional leadership." Abergel provided an extensive explanation that debunked that claim. He said the commission, established almost a decade ago, consisted of 24 commissioners (12 Democrats and 12 Republicans) appointed by former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. He noted that some of the commissioners hadn't attended America250 meetings "in years" and, having been appointed by the Trump White House, Abergel sought to possibly replace those inactive members with ones appointed by the current congressional leadership.

Abergel said he spoke with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in late June or early July, and Johnson gave Abergel his blessing to reach out to some of the commissioners to ask if they'd resign. Abergel describes the phone calls with four commissioners as "cordial," and two commissioners submitted letters of resignation. One was from Bill McClay, who submitted the following letter of resignation to Abergel:

First of all, my congratulations to you on your appointment to the position of Executive Director of the Commission! May it be the most stimulating and consequential experience of your professional life!

I write, however, to inform you in writing what we’ve already discussed on the phone: that I am offering my resignation as a Commissioner, effective immediately, in order to make room for Speaker Johnson to make fresh appointments to the Commission, but with the understanding that I will continue to work with America250 staff at the White House on projects like the Story of America video series.

So this is not a goodbye but a transition to a different role. I’ll be happy to work with you in the future, in whatever capacity, on the great cause of making the 250th anniversary one of the most memorable events of our time.

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At the time, Chair Rosie Rios was on board with the resignations. In a text exchange, Abergel told Rios, "Spoke with Bill McClay. All done."

Rios replied, "How was he? Is he sending you his resignation email?" Abergel said McClay was "very positive" and a "very nice guy." Rios then replied, "Excellent, thanks. Let me know how you want to frame this for the weekly email. We should do all of this at once including the announcement of the new Commissioners." Abergel clarified the next steps, which would involve Speaker Johnson making new nominations.

"Yes," wrote Rios. "If the official resignations have been submitted and forwarded to the Speaker's office, then that is the green light. We should also send those resignations to...counsel to remove from our lists."

Abergel asked if Speaker Johnson's office needed to send his nominations anywhere. 

"In this case, since no vote has to happen for a replacement, it could be a straightforward appointment letter," Rios replied.

Shortly after this exchange, Rios changed her mind about the resignations and rescinded them.

The question is: why?

And this is where the background of Rios, who is tasked with the patriotic task of celebrating America's 250th anniversary, comes into play. 

President Joe Biden appointed Rios as Chair of America250 in July 2022. In a thread from Senator Eric Schmitt posted back in May, Schmitt says Rios was appointed to replace Dan DiLella (who was appointed by President Trump in 2018) under "dubious circumstances."

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Schmitt continued, noting that Rios is "a longtime Democrat partisan" with "a history of extreme partisan bias and anti-American rhetoric."

In a separate, eye-opening thread, White House correspondent Natalie Winters noted Rios "believes Mexicans 'are the future' of America, hates border walls, and thinks 'nothing good can come' from Trump." Rios has also attacked President Trump for "demonizing" rhetoric.

In addition to these comments, Rios has made social media posts celebrating Pride month and "LGBTQ+ suffragists" -- posts that could also be considered "political and divisive."

Schmitt expressed his concerns about Rios and submitted a letter to President Trump, asking Trump to replace Rios on the America250 Commission:

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I write to you today to respectfully request the immediate removal of Ms. Rosie Rios from her position as Chair of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission — the organizing body tasked with planning and overseeing the celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary. The creation of the commission was signed into law in 2016 and provides the President of the United States the ability to choose the chair of the Commission.¹

Ms. Rios, who served as U.S. Treasurer under President Obama, was appointed as Chair of the Semiquincentennial Commission by President Biden in 2022, replacing your first selection as Chair, Daniel DiLella,² under highly dubious and controversial circumstances.³

Ms. Rios has a track record of extreme partisan bias against you and your administration. In July 2016, she insisted that “nothing good” could come from your presidential candidacy. For the Chair of our Semiquincentennial Commission to repeatedly make statements denigrating your vision to put America first, which received the support of tens of millions of Americans, is concerning. As we get closer to the anniversary, her continued role as chair of the committee could serve as a detriment to this historic celebration. As President, you have the authority to ensure that this important commission is led by someone who does not give in to cheap partisan attacks on you and your administration’s priorities.

I respectfully request you reconsider Ms. Rios as Chair of the committee. By removing Ms. Rios and ushering in new leadership for the Commission, you can appoint someone you can trust to plan and execute our Semiquincentennial celebration, so the event commemorating America’s 250th anniversary can be an unforgettable event that will be the envy of the world.

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Schmitt also added, "The person in charge of our 250th anniversary shouldn't struggle to choose between America and another country. America is a unique, distinctive, sovereign nation and people. Our 250th anniversary should be a celebration of our unique, distinctive history and heritage."

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.  
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