Bipartisan senators demand Trump explanation for IG firings
The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a rare bipartisan letter to President Trump demanding an explanation for his firing of 17 inspectors general (IG) in one night.
The rebuke said Trump violated the law by failing to give Congress 30 days' notice and a rationale for the removal for each of the watchdogs at the 18 agencies where they provided oversight.
“Congress was not provided the legally required 30-day notice and case-specific reasons for removal, as required by law. Accordingly, we request that you provide that information immediately,” Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote in the joint letter.
“While IGs aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed. The communication to Congress must contain more than just broad and vague statements, rather it must include sufficient facts and details to assure Congress and the public that the termination is due to real concerns about the Inspector General’s ability to carry out their mission.”
The letter also asks Trump to list which acting officials will take over their roles.
Trump late Friday fired the group, removing some of his own prior appointees. The ousted watchdogs came from the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Veterans Affairs, among others.
The move has sparked alarm among those who say it will undoubtedly impact independent oversight.
Grassley was the sponsor of the 2022 law referenced in his letter to the president, one that gave additional oversight to Congress after a series of IGs were fired by Trump during his first term in office.
The White House did not respond to request for comment on the letter.
But speaking to reporters shortly before the letter was released, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s firing of the inspectors general.
“He is the executive of the executive branch, and therefore he has the power to fire anyone within the executive branch that he wishes to,” she said.
Many of the fired IGs described the move as a threat not just to oversight but to democracy.
“I view it as a potentially existential threat, with respect to the main oversight mechanism that we have in our federal government system,” Mark Greenblatt, the former top watchdog at the Interior Department, told The Hill on Tuesday.
Greenblatt said the ultimate impact of the firings of the watchdogs comes down to “who President Trump nominates and appoints in these inspector general positions.”
“It all boils down to their independence: are they going to be independent of mind and spirit,” he added.
Updated at 4:45 p.m. EST