Trump ousts at least 15 independent inspectors general in late-night purge
The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector generalThe White House late Friday fired the independent inspectors general of at least 14 major federal agencies in a purge that could clear the way for President Donald Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.
The inspectors general were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, according to people familiar with the actions, who like others in this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private messages.
The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector general.
Oversight of some of the government’s largest agencies was affected: the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration.Most of those dismissed were Trump appointees from his first term, which stunned the watchdog community. One prominent inspector general survived the purge — Michael Horowitz at the Justice Department, an appointee of President Barack Obama who has issued reports critical of both the Biden administration and Trump’s first administration.
Trump ousted five watchdogs in quick succession during his first term in 2020, starting with Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who alerted Congress to the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s first impeachment. Trump had appointed Atkinson. The president also removed the State Department’s chief watchdog, who had begun investigating alleged misconduct by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Many lawmakers at the time said they believed the watchdogs were fired simply because of their involvement in investigations that cast the first Trump administration in a negative light.
But Friday’s dismissals befuddled and stunned the watchdog community, as many of those let go had done hard-hitting investigations of Biden administration operations.
That last paragraph makes clear that DJT does not want hard-hitting investigations, maybe unless they target enemies or opponents.
DJT and MAGA wanting to get rid of IGs (inspectors general) comes as no surprise. However, firing them illegally like this instead of waiting for the 30 day notice period is surprising. And, it's another clear sign that DJT holds the rule of law in open contempt. He apparently has no intention of obeying essentially any law he wants to violate.
Since this is an official act, he is immune from any civil or legal prosecution. DJT will replace IGs who are more or less honest and competent with kleptocratic, incompetent loyalists. Once this is accomplished, bribery and corruption in the federal government will run wild, free and butt naked. How is that possible? Easy peasy. Last year the USSC (1) granted vast immunity to a sitting president, and (2) legalized bribery of government officials. American kleptocracy has been legalized, empowered and unleashed.
Corruption has been unleashed!
For some context, Public Citizen wrote about this in Sept. 2024:
Revealed in a new Public Citizen analysis, Project 2025’s Pro-Corruption & Anti-Democracy Agenda, the 920-page “Mandate For Leadership” briefing book lists in-depth plans to weaken anti-corruption laws, replace qualified experts with political cronies and weaponize the Dept. of Justice to target local elected officials and election administrators. In one of its corresponding “Presidential Administration Academy” video trainings, two Project 2025 leaders say that, upon election, the next U.S. president should replace the independent Inspectors General (IGs) working to oversee federal operations and detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct throughout 74 federal programs. The Project 2025 leaders said the next president should instead install “their own IGs” so that they “have control of the people that work within the government.”
The report’s author and Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger called his findings in the right-wing presidential playbook “a threat to knock down the walls that keep corruption from running rampant.”
“Replacing nonpartisan, independent Inspectors General with loyal political cronies would mean more government fraud, waste, and abuse and cost taxpayers millions,” said Golinger. “The whole point of Inspectors General is to have objective government watchdogs who are there to identify problems and propose solutions without regard to political pressure. Wiping out independent IGs would make our government less efficient and effective.”
