White House's director of 250th celebration fired by bipartisan commission [View all]

Source: The Hill

09/23/25 10:35 AM ET


The nation’s 250th birthday celebration will go on without the help of a White House-appointed director who was removed from planning efforts after allegedly making unapproved posts and financial decisions.

Ariel Abergel, a 25-year-old who previously worked as a Fox News producer, was fired from the bipartisan Semiquincentennial Commission after being appointed to the role by President Trump. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the Trump appointee’s removal.

The commission is made up of 16 unpaid private citizens, eight members of Congress and 12 federal officials who serve as nonvoting ex-officio members supported by the America250 foundation. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) each serve on the committee.

Abergel was terminated “after he 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,” an America250 foundation spokesperson told The Journal.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5517326-white-house-ariel-abergel-suspension-america-250/