The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission has fired the White House-selected executive director for America’s 250th birthday celebration, according to several reports. The termination follows an unapproved Instagram post and disputes with commission members.
Executive director fired
Ariel Abergel, a 25-year-old, was a Fox News producer before being appointed to organize next year’s birthday celebration, along with a military parade earlier this year in Washington, D.C. He also briefly worked at the White House during President Donald Trump’s first term.
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He has reportedly clashed with members of the commission overseeing next year’s celebration. That commission, also known as America250, is made up of 36 members, including private citizens, members of Congress and members of the Trump administration.
Abergel pointed to one of those clashes as the reason for his dismissal: a since-deleted Instagram post honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10.
While Abergel reportedly requested permission to make a post honoring Kirk, he did so without approval on the official America250 account.
It included a picture of Kirk with a caption that read: “America is in mourning. God bless Charlie Kirk.”
A spokesperson for America250 told Newsweek that Abergel’s termination was about more than the Kirk post.
The spokesperson said Abergel “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.”
Abergel told The Wall Street Journal that the statement contained “malicious lies” meant to “distract from the truth.” He said he was suspended, asked to resign and ultimately fired.
A White House spokesman told the Journal that the Trump administration is “incredibly proud of all of Ari Abergel’s work at America250 — most notably during the Army250 parade.”
What happens next?
America250 plans to hire a new executive director in consultation with the White House and Task Force 250, a group established by the Trump administration to assist in planning events alongside the America250 Commission.
The commission was founded to plan celebrations for 250 years of American independence. July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The commission’s leaders include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. It’s unclear what the celebration will entail, but the commission launched a website to give updates.
