Trump Ousts Over A Dozen Government Watchdogs

The Trump administration has fired at least a dozen federal watchdogs, a move that has been described as a “chilling purge” and could potentially face legal challenges.

Late on Friday evening, the Trump administration dismissed at least a dozen federal inspectors general, a decision that has raised significant concerns about accountability and transparency. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the firings as a “chilling purge,” suggesting that President Trump is “terrified of accountability and hostile to facts and transparency.”

The White House has not confirmed the firings and did not respond to requests for comment. Affected inspectors general received emails from the director of presidential personnel overnight on Friday, informing them that “due to changing priorities, your position as inspector general… is terminated, effective immediately.”

The group of dismissed watchdogs includes the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services and the inspector general of the Small Business Administration. Competing lists of fired watchdogs have been circulating, with reports indicating that inspectors general at the departments of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, housing and urban development, interior, labor, transportation, and veterans affairs, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, were all considered for dismissal.

Inspectors general were created by Congress in the wake of the Watergate scandal as part of a wave of reforms intended to curb corruption, waste, and fraud. These independent watchdogs work within federal agencies but are not controlled by the heads of those agencies, serving as a guard against mismanagement and abuse of power. Though they are presidential appointees, they are expected to be nonpartisan.

The firings may be in breach of a law that requires the White House to give Congress 30-day notice and case-specific information before dismissing a federal inspector general. Hannibal Ware, the inspector general of the Small Business Administration and head of a council of watchdogs across agencies, sent a letter to Sergio Gor, the head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, suggesting that the dismissals were invalid.

“I recommend that you reach out to the White House regarding your intended course of action,” Ware wrote. “At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general.”

Democrats were quick to criticize the president for the move. Schumer described the firings as a “preview of the lawless approach” Trump and his administration were taking. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called the firings a “Friday night coup” and an “attack on transparency and accountability.”

Some Republican lawmakers also expressed concern over the purge. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senator Susan Collins of Maine both voiced their disapproval. “I don’t understand why one would fire individuals whose mission it is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse,” Collins said at the Capitol on Saturday. “I don’t understand it.”

The firings of these federal watchdogs have sparked a significant controversy, raising questions about the administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability. As legal challenges and political debates unfold, the future of these independent watchdogs and their role in safeguarding against mismanagement and abuse of power remains uncertain.