President Donald Trump recently fired the remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. A statement from the council's executive director confirmed the termination last week, according to CNN. The termination comes after six members resigned from the council in June, citing a "President who simply does not care," according to an op-ed in Newsweek written by one of the members at the time.

B. Kaye Hayes, the council's executive director, said in a statement that the dismissals are part of the Trump administration's efforts to "bring in new voices." However, the members who have been dismissed are encouraged to reapply to the new council, scheduled to begin in 2018.

"The current members of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) received a letter informing them that the administration was terminating their appointments," Hayes said. "Changing the makeup of federal advisory committee members is a common occurrence during Administration changes." She added that Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush made similar changes during their presidencies.

In June former member of the council Scott Schoettes explained his reasons for resigning in the Newsweek op-ed headlined "Trump doesn't care about HIV. We're outta here." Schoettes was appointed to PACHA during the Obama administration.

"We cannot ignore the many signs that the Trump Administration does not take the on-going epidemic, or the needs of people living with HIV, seriously," wrote Schoettes, the HIV project director for Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focused on the LGBT community and people living with HIV.

PACHA isn't the first advisory council Trump has dismantled in his first year in the Oval Office. In August, Trump dismissed the climate change advisory panel.