President Donald Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general across the federal government apparently without giving Congress the required notice and reasons, providing an early test for a recently formed caucus aimed at protecting agency watchdogs.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched the bipartisan Inspector General Caucus less than two weeks ago with five other senators and the mission to “support federal watchdogs in their efforts to ensure government accountability and compliance with the law.”
On Friday, Trump fired the internal watchdogs at the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury and Agriculture, as well as several independent agencies, according to media reports.
Such a large-scale firing of internal watchdogs has not happened for decades. Several experts argued that the firings were a threat to the entire system established in the 1970s for internal watchdogs to root out waste, fraud and abuse.
The last time so many inspectors general were fired was in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan fired more than a dozen officials when he came into office, said Paul C. Light, professor emeritus at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.
The firings represent a critical moment in the IG system, and its survival will depend on the response to Trump’s actions, said Light, who served on a federal commission on government employment reform and has written books on federal investigations and inspectors general. Several of the IGs fired by Reagan were rehired following pushback from IGs and Congress.
Unless there’s a similar pushback this time around from members of Congress or the courts, “I think it’s going to be a damning effect on the concept of IGs,” Light said.
Ernst, Grassley reaction
In 2020, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, held up several Trump administration nominations until he received further explanations from the Trump administration about the firing of the State Department inspector general.
“Im placing holds on 2 Trump Admin noms until I get reasons 4firing 2 agency watchdogs as required by law Not 1st time ive raised alarm when admins flout IG protection law Obama did same& got same earfull from me All I want is a reason 4 firing these ppl CHECKS&BALANCES,” Grassley posted on social media at the time.
This time, Grassley, who joined Ernst on the IG caucus, said he wants further explanation from the Trump administration about the firings.
“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress,” Grassley’s statement said.
A spokesperson for Ernst said she would try to learn more about the firings. “Senator Ernst looks forward to learning more about this decision and working with the president to nominate replacements, so the important work of independent investigators to root out waste, fraud, and abuse can continue with full transparency,” the statement said.
Light said the firings will have “a very significant impact on courage up and down the system” – not just for inspectors general themselves, but also the ecosystem of federal employees who trust the system enough to report problems.
Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer in the Obama administration and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said on MSNBC that Trump’s firings “flouted” the law requiring congressional notice, and represented Trump’s broader pushback against any checks on his power.
“This is a country of laws, not dictatorial leaders,” Eisen said.
On NBC Sunday Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump “technically” violated the law with the firings, and that the new president has the right to appoint officials who reflect his views.
“I’m not losing a whole lot of sleep that he wants to change the personnel out. I just want to make sure that he gets off to a good start. I think he has,” Graham said.
Trump himself has defended the firings, telling reporters Saturday “I don’t know them” and that “some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job.”
Only a few IGs at cabinet-level agencies were retained, including DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Jr. Trump praised Horowitz to reporters over the weekend and praised Horowitz’s 2018 report criticizing the decisions of former FBI Director James Comey, calling it “incredible, actually.”
“Such an accurate, well-done report,” he said.
Trump himself had appointed several of the inspectors general he fired, and asserted Saturday that “it’s a very standard thing to do.”
President Barack Obama, during his first term, drew criticism from Republicans for firing Gerald Walpin from his post as inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Trump, over a few months in 2020 during his first term, fired two permanent IGs and three acting inspectors general.
Hannibal Ware, one of the reportedly fired inspectors general who also heads the cross-government Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, highlighted the 2022 law that Trump’s firing appears to violate in a statement Saturday.
“Removals inconsistent with the law are a significant threat to the actual and perceived independence of IGs,” the statement said.
“IGs are not immune from removal. However, the law must be followed to protect independent government oversight for America,” Ware’s statement said.
Democrats, who do not control either chamber of Congress, criticized the decision. In a floor speech Monday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y, said the “chilling, potentially unlawful” decision raised the question of whether Trump was trying to hide from accountability.
“It’s a reminder that if there’s anything President Trump fears most, it’s accountability. He likes to talk about one thing, then another, then doesn’t like to be held accountable,” Schumer said.
A letter to Trump with several dozen House Democrats led by Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Va., the ranking member of the House oversight panel, said the firings raised “grave concern about your recent attempt to unlawfully and arbitrarily” remove inspectors general.
“Firing inspectors general without due cause is antithetical to good government, undermines the proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and degrades the federal government’s ability to function effectively and efficiently,” the letter said.
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