Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman appears to have quietly left a premier Pentagon advisory board after the election of Donald Trump, raising questions about whether he quit the organization on his own or was forced off because of his work to keep Trump out of the White House.
Hoffman joined the Defense Innovation Board, chaired by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, in October 2022. The group provides advice to the Pentagon on how to implement new technologies into the military and work more efficiently with private companies.
Hoffman, the cofounder of LinkedIn, was listed as a board member until at least Nov. 27, according to archived versions of its website, but is no longer listed there. If Hoffman was forced off the board, it would be the latest example of a federal agency cleaning house ahead of Trump’s second term. Trump has said he will not allow Democrats or Republicans afflicted with what he called "Trump Derangement Syndrome" to work in federal agencies. In December, the FBI quietly shut its Diversity and Inclusion office.
Hoffman’s position on the board caused outcry from Republicans over his ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his funding for controversial political projects to help Democrats. And in July, Hoffman came under fire after he said he hoped his political tactics would make Donald Trump an "actual martyr." Days later, a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative legal group, called for Hoffman to "be dismissed" from the board because of what it called Hoffman's "irresponsible and dangerous remarks" about Trump.
The Defense Innovation Board noted that request at its July 17 board meeting, according to board records. Bloomberg discussed the attempted assassination, though he did not speak about Hoffman’s remarks or acknowledge the National Legal and Policy Center complaint, according to a transcript of the meeting.
The Pentagon, the Innovation board, and members of the board did not respond to requests for comment about Hoffman’s departure.
"I think Reid Hoffman saw the writing on the wall and resigned from the board, on which he should not have been on in the first place," said Paul Kamenar, counsel for the National Legal and Policy Center.
Peter Flaherty, the chairman of the center, said he questions whether Hoffman will maintain any security clearances he obtained for his board position.
Hoffman, who did not respond to requests for comment, has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He has poured tens of millions of dollars into super PACs and activist groups to oppose Republicans, at times funding organizations that use ethically dubious tactics to help Democrats. Hoffman apologized in 2018 after he was found to have funded a tech company that created fake social media accounts aimed at dissuading conservatives from voting in the 2017 Alabama special Senate election.
Hoffman, who has said he considered fleeing the United States after Trump’s election win, is the only member of the 10-person board to have left the post since its launch in October 2022. And the board consists of several other Trump critics, though none have been as outspoken as Hoffman.
Bloomberg, whom Trump nicknamed "Mini Mike," has called Trump an "existential threat" to democracy. Bloomberg donated $50 million to elect Harris in the waning weeks of the campaign.
Board member Sue Gordon, the former deputy director of the office of national intelligence, has criticized Trump over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after the 2020 election that he was "very concerned" that "Trump loyalists" would serve in the Pentagon during the post-election transition.