6 Advocates Resign from Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS: 'We're Outta Here'

Six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS resigned from their jobs with a bang last week by publishing a letter in Newsweek claiming that President Donald Trump doesn't care abut HIV.

"As advocates for people living with HIV, we have dedicated our lives to combating this disease and no longer feel we can do so effectively within the confines of an advisory body to a president who simply does not care," wrote Scott Schoettes, Lucy Bradley-Springer, Gina Brown, Ulysses Burley III, Michelle Ogle and Grissel Granados in a joint letter published in Newsweek titled "Trump Doesn't Care About HIV. We're Outta Here."

In the letter, the HIV advocates mention a litany of examples from the president's short time in office to back up their assertion that he doesn't appear to be concerned about containing the epidemic or the wellbeing of people living with HIV. They mentioned Trump hasn't even appointed anyone to lead the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, and noted how the administration took down the website for the Office of National AIDS Policy when he took office in January.

However, it was the potential damage to those living with HIV/AIDS from the proposed repeal/replace GOP health care bill that the group called "final straw for us - more like a two-by-four than a straw."

"We hope the members of Congress who have the power to affect healthcare reform will engage with us and other advocates in a way that the Trump Administration apparently will not," they wrote.