The Inspector General Caucus Must Stand Up Against Trump’s Illegal Firings
Congress must ensure that Trump removes inspectors general only for legitimate reasons — and only in a legal manner.
(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In a midnight massacre of oversight and accountability, President Donald Trump attempted to unlawfully fire several inspectors general, the independent watchdogs tasked with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies.
The move shows a disregard for the rule of law and could threaten crucial independent oversight of the federal government. Congress must step up to ensure that Trump follows the law and that the independence of inspectors general remains intact.
For inspectors general to be effective watchdogs, they need to be confident they will only be removed because of serious wrongdoing, not for political reasons. Otherwise, they may be reticent to do their jobs: to fully investigate and make public corruption and abuse of power.
As Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote in a 2020 letter to Trump, “Congress intended that inspectors general only be removed when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing or failure to perform the duties of the office, and not for reasons unrelated to their performance, to help preserve IG independence.”
Congress must ensure that the president removes inspectors general only for legitimate reasons — and only in a legal manner. The Republican members of the Senate’s new Inspector General Caucus should lead the way.
“These senators have been great leaders in championing inspectors general, and we need that leadership now.”
Grassley has a long history of defending inspectors general from improper firing. During the Obama administration, he objected to the firing of an inspector general without written notice to Congress, as the law requires. When Trump removed several inspectors general in his first term for political reasons, not only did Grassley object to the removal, he also led efforts in Congress to strengthen the law and prevent future iterations of this abuse of power. The new law was meant to ensure inspectors general felt empowered to do their jobs without fear of being fired for exposing wrongdoing that could hurt a president’s public image.
Just two weeks ago, Grassley joined two other Republicans, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK), in launching the bipartisan Inspector General Caucus, to “work to ensure that the executive branch watchdogs are empowered to properly identify and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse.” Given the senators’ aim of supporting these independent watchdogs and their efforts to protect taxpayer dollars by rooting out government waste, they should stand up today for the independence of the inspector general system.
These senators have been great leaders in championing inspectors general, and we need that leadership now. Grassley, Ernst, and Lankford have an opportunity to grow their legacies as champions of independent oversight and accountability.
They should lead Congress to demand, as the law requires, 30 days warning of the intention to fire any presidentially appointed inspector general, along with “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for such firings. Once the president complies with this law, Congress must assess his rationale for firing these independent watchdogs.
We need effective, empowered inspectors general in place — they are a critical guardrail against corruption and abuse of power in the federal government. We’re counting on the commitment to inspectors general from Grassley, Ernst, and Lankford to ensure the inspector general system remains strong and independent.
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