Trump names Erika Kirk to key advisory board of US Air Force Academy [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 10 Mar 2026 14.43 EDT
Last modified on Tue 10 Mar 2026 16.35 EDT


Donald Trump has appointed Erika Kirk, the widow of murdered rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, to a key advisory board of the US Air Force Academy.

The 37-year-old joins a number of other loyalists to the president on the 16-member panel of the academy’s board of visitors, which according to its website “inquires into the morale, discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods and other matters” of the Colorado Springs military training facility.

Kirk’s husband, who was shot and killed in September during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University, was appointed by Trump to the board a year earlier and served until his death. There was no official announcement by the academy of his widow’s elevation, which was reported on Tuesday by the Hill and other political news outlets. But her name has already been added to the list of members as one of Trump’s current five appointees, with one slot vacant.

Other people appointed by the president in March 2025 include the Republican Alabama US senator Tommy Tuberville, and Dina Powell, who was deputy national security adviser for strategy during the first Trump administration.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/10/erika-kirk-board-us-air-force-academy