Monica Rhodes had been in her seat on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for half of her three-year term when in early 2025 she received an email from the incoming Trump administration saying her expertise was no longer needed.
A Texas-born cultural preservationist, Rhodes was one of six members of the council appointed by former Democratic presidents prematurely ousted last year by President Donald Trump to make room for a new slate of appointees. It was an unusual move for a small agency created by Congress in 1966 to advise presidents and members of Congress on their legal obligations to protect the nation’s physical and cultural heritage.
“It was a rupture in how the preservation business, how we’re conducted,” said Rhodes, describing a council that typically operates with a mixed political perspective. “There’s this unspoken rule that we’re here in service and in support of the country.”
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s 24 members include historic preservation experts, members of the public and heads of federal agencies. But political appointees — there are 11 members appointed by the president who aren’t connected to a federal agency or historic preservation group — typically serve out staggered terms to create continuity between administrations.
