Six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS ( PACHA ), on June 13, resigned from their posts, citing President Donald Trump's supposed indifference to the issue as their reason.
Among those council members was Scott Schoettes, who is counsel and HIV project director for Lambda Legal. Based in the organization's Chicago office, Schoettes litigated a number of high-profile HIV/AIDS-related cases on Lambda's behalf.
Schoettes published an editorial in Newsweek, on June 16, where he stated that he and his colleagues left the council because "The Trump Administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, andmost concerningpushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease."
He further noted that Trump did not meet with HIV/AIDS advocates during his campaign, and that his administration dismantled the Office of National AIDS Policy website without replacing it. Furthermore, Trump has not named anyone to lead the Office of National AIDS Policy.
Other council members who resigned included Lucy Bradley-Springer, Gina Brown, Ulysses W. Burley III, Michelle Ogle, and Grissel Granados.
Newsweek's article is at bit.ly/2twIS8i.