A senior White House official told NBC News that President Donald Trump fired at least 12 federal inspectors general on Friday.
The Justice Department and Homeland Security inspectors general were unaffected by the action.
The official responded that the president was trying to get rid of aspects of the previous Biden administration that didn’t fit with the new Trump administration when asked why the inspectors general were sacked.
The official stated, “We’re clearing out everything that doesn’t work for us and moving forward.”
Given that Congress reinforced safeguards against arbitrary terminations for inspectors general in its 2022 amendment to the Inspector General Act, the legal basis for the firings is unclear.
The statute stipulates that the White House must provide Congress 30 days’ notice before removing an inspector general from their position. Additionally, the White House must give specific justifications for the inspector general’s dismissal.
In response to a question about whether the White House was worried about the constitutionality of the dismissals, considering that each inspector general must receive 30 days of congressional notice, the person stated that legal counsel reviews many of these decisions. After consulting with the White House counsel’s office, the official stated that they did not believe the administration had violated any laws.
The New York Times and The Washington Post were the first to report on the firings.
In government agencies, inspectors general are generally regarded as independent individuals. They are expected to look into claims of fraud, waste, and power abuse in their departments in addition to doing impartial audits within their organization.
The head of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, Hannibal “Mike” Ware, responded to the firings by writing to his fellow inspectors general to ask them to let him know if they were fired. He also told them that his council is planning a response to the White House and wants to account for all of the PAS IGs who have been notified.
According to NBC News, Ware also wrote to politicians on Capitol Hill and the White House regarding the terminations on behalf of CIGIE.
Ware wrote, “At this time, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General,” in response to the question of whether the firings were lawful.
In a separate statement, Ware made the case that “removals inconsistent with the law are a significant threat to the actual and perceived independence of IGs.”
He went on to say, “IGs are not immune from removal,” “However, the law must be followed to protect independent government oversight for America.”
Trump fired several inspectors general on Friday, including Ware. The inspector general of the Department of Education was also sacked on Friday, the department confirmed to NBC News.
The Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also pointed out that Trump’s choice did not follow the firing procedure specified in federal law. When federal law was updated in 2022, the senator spearheaded the effort to safeguard inspectors general.
The IGs may have been sacked for a valid reason. If that’s the case, we must know. I would like President Trump to provide further details. In any case, Grassley told NBC News in a statement that Congress had not received the 30-day comprehensive notice of departure required by law.
Democrats swiftly denounced Trump’s action on Friday night and early Saturday as well.
Schumer described the dismissals as a “chilling purge” during a speech on the Senate floor on Saturday morning. He said, “Last night, President Trump fired at least 12 independent inspector generals at important federal agencies across the administration.” This purge is terrifying and serves as a sneak peek at the lawless stance that Donald Trump and his team are adopting far too frequently as he assumes office.
Schumer went on to say that these dismissals may be against federal law, which mandates that Congress give 30 days’ notice before firing inspectors general.
Concerns regarding the constitutionality of the terminations and Trump’s intention to eliminate checks and balances were also voiced by Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight.
“This move clearly shows that the White House is very interested in eliminating checks and balances, and they shot themselves in the foot with this one tool for weeding out waste and fraud,” Brian told NBC News.
She continued, “I’m still not sure they’ll get away with this.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, similarly referred to the firings as a purge in a post on X, adding that President Trump is destroying the balances on his authority and opening the door for rampant wrongdoing.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also blasted Trump’s decision in a statement, calling it an attack on accountability and openness and a Friday night coup.