Top Senators Call on Trump to Follow Law on Watchdog Terminations

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during a Senate Judiciary hearing about sanctuary jurisdictions, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 22, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Senators from both parties are calling on President Donald Trump to follow the law regarding the termination of more than a dozen inspectors general.

Trump recently fired the inspectors general, or watchdogs, who conduct investigations into government agencies.

While the president has the power to fire and appoint the watchdogs, laws passed by Congress require the president to alert Congress in writing 30 days before transferring or removing an inspector general from office.

The law says that the president shall, in the communication, offer Congress a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for the removal or transfer.

“Congress was not provided the legally required 30-day notice and case-specific reasons for removal, as required by law,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote in a letter to Trump, dated Jan. 28. “Accordingly, we request that you provide that information immediately.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Durbin is the Democratic whip in the Senate and the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs.

“IGs aren’t immune to removal, and if they’re not doing their job properly, they ought [to be] dismissed,” Grassley wrote on social media platform X. “However, the law is the law.”

The senators said the communication must include not just “broad and vague statements” but “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.”

They also requested the name of each official who will serve in an acting capacity for each vacancy that has been created, and that Trump work quickly to nominate qualified, nonpartisan individuals to each position.

According to lawmakers, Phyllis Fong, the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was among those fired. And, Hannibal Mike Ware, the inspector general for the U.S. Small Business Administration, has said he was terminated.

Ware, who also chairs the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, said recently that the firings were legally deficient, pointing to the required notification to Congress.

Democrats previously criticized the terminations.

“The firing of at least 12 independent inspector generals by Trump is one more example of how he wants to govern without oversight or accountability. A democracy needs checks and balances,” Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) wrote on X.

Some Republicans, on the other hand, have defended the move.

“The real threat to democracy would be keeping Inspector Generals in office who are no longer serving the American people,” Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) said. “President Trump said he would drain the swamp, and he’s well within his rights to do that.”

Newly sworn-in presidents regularly fire inspectors general and U.S. attorneys, among other presidential appointees.

Trump told reporters in a recent gaggle that he fired the inspectors general “because it’s a very common thing to do.”

He said he was keeping others in place, including U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

When asked about replacing those fired, Trump said, “We’ll put people in there who will be very good.”