Days after President Donald Trump terminated more than a dozen Inspector Generals around the federal government, two high-profile senators are seeking more information on the dismissals.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the committee, co-authored a letter to Trump saying that his actions were inappropriate and violated laws regarding the employment of individuals tasked with preventing fraud and conducting audits within government agencies.
“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 senators wrote in the letter.
Durbin and Grassley asked Trump to “provide the lawfully-required substantive rationale” behind the decision to dismiss the Inspectors General from their posts.
According to the letter, Grassley was the author of a bill that required the president to provide “written, detailed communication” to Congress at least 30 days before firing an Inspector General in any government agency.
Those Inspector Generals are tasked with “conducting objective audits, preventing fraud and promoting efficiency,” according to the Associated Press.
Trump stunned lawmakers when he fired at least 18 Inspector Generals on Friday, hitting more than a dozen government agencies.
“It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump told reporters as he defended the actions on Air Force One Saturday.
Other lawmakers, including Sens. Adam Schiff and Susan Collins, questioned the move, while Mike Ware, who had been serving as Inspector General for the Small Business Administration, called the firings a “threat to transparency in government” in an interview with MSNBC.
“We’re looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight, and a threat to transparency in government. This is — the statute isn’t just a technicality. It’s a key protection of IG independence is what it is,” he said.
Other senators, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, did not answer questions on whether Trump violated the law, but said he thinks the president will “nominate serious, qualified people” to the positions.
“What I’m saying is the president has the authority to terminate people in the executive branch,” Cruz said in a CNBC interview. “And I also think inspectors general are incredibly important for ensuring that agencies are following the law.”
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