The Trump administration has fired more than a dozen independent inspectors general at government agencies, a sweeping action to remove oversight of his new administration that some members of Congress are suggesting violated federal oversight laws.
The dismissals began Friday night and were effective immediately, according to a person familiar with the actions who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public. The firings were carried out without giving Congress 30-day notices of removal of inspectors general –- something that even a top Republican said violated the law.
“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “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,” said Grassley, R-Iowa.
President Donald Trump was in Las Vegas on Saturday for a speech. The White House press office did not respond to requests for comment.
The role of the modern-day inspector general dates to post-Watergate Washington, when Congress installed offices inside agencies as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of power. Though inspectors general are presidential appointees, some serve presidents of both parties. All are expected to be nonpartisan.
“Yesterday, in the dark of night, President Trump fired at least 12 independent inspector generals at important federal agencies across the administration,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Saturday on the chamber’s floor. “This is a chilling purge and it’s a preview of the lawless approach Donald Trump and his administration are taking far too often as he’s becoming president.”
Schumer said the dismissals are “possibly in violation of federal law” and help demonstrate that the move “is a glaring sign that it’s a golden age for abuse in government and even corruption.”
The Washington Post, which first reported the firings, said that most were appointees from Trump’s first term. Among those spared in the round of dismissals was Michael Horowitz, the longtime Justice Department inspector general who has issued reports on assorted politically explosive criminal investigations over the past decade.
In December 2019, for instance, Horowitz released a report faulting the FBI for surveillance warrant applications in the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. But the report also found that that investigation had been opened for a legitimate purpose and did not find evidence that partisan bias had guided investigative decisions.
Democrats blistered the firings, with Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, calling it a “coup to overthrow legally protected independent inspectors general.”
Connolly said the dismals constituted “an attack on transparency and accountability, essential ingredients in our democratic form of government.”
He also suggested that the move — coming on just the fourth full day of Trump’s second term — could potentially free up a series of positions that can subsequently be filled with loyalists who are strongly sympathetic to the Trump administration.
“Replacing independent inspectors general with political hacks will harm every American who relies on social security, veterans benefits, and a fair hearing at IRS on refunds and audits,” Connolly said.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called Trump’s actions “a purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.”
“Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct,” Warren posted on X. “President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”
Still, Trump has aggressively challenged the authority of independent agency watchdog groups in the past.
In 2020, he replaced multiple key inspectors general, including those leading the Defense Department and intelligence community, as well as the inspector general tapped to chair a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus.
