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Donald Trump has placed his senior counselor Hope Hicks on the board of the prestigious Fulbright academic exchange programme, part of a flurry of final appointments cementing his influence over various important institutions even once he leaves office.
The 12-member panel oversees the Fulbright Program, which exchanges US students and academics with other countries, and is considered to be the most prestigious international exchange programme in the world. Board members serve three-year terms, and get compensated for travel and office expenses.
According to the law establishing the board, members are “distinguished representatives of cultural, educational, student advisory, and war veterans groups, and representatives of the United States Department of Education, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, public and private nonprofit educational institutions.”
Ms Hicks, a former model and PR consultant, joined Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign early on, after working with his daughter and adviser Ivanka on her fashion brand.
Once the election was over, she joined the White House and eventually became the president’s communications director, before resigning and later rejoining the White House. Fellow Trump alum Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former press secretary, also serves on the Fulbright board after her 2019 nomination.
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Ms Hicks’ tenure as a presidential adviser has been marred by two major scandals. Ms Hicks, reportedly one of the president’s closest allies in the Oval Office, was mentioned in the Mueller report over 180 times, and was present for many of the key episodes and discussions that were later scrutinised, including the meeting in Trump Tower with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, the effort to get attorney general Jeff Sessions to revoke his recusal from the probe, and the firing of FBI director James Comey.
Then, this October, back in the White House after a stint of corporate work, Ms Hicks tested positive for coronavirus, setting off a wave of positive cases inside the administration that has touched the president and numerous senior officials
Altogether, the president nominated various allies, staffers, and campaign supporters to more than 40 positions on Tuesday, including the boards of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Museum and Library Services Board, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
Earlier this month, he rewarded former campaign officials Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie with spots on the Defense Business Board, which advises the Pentagon on allocating its massive budget, a move which rankled some insiders due to the men’s perceived lack of experience.
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