President Trump concluded his first week in office by firing 17 inspectors general from a long list of federal agencies last Friday night, which drew the attention of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley.
It’s within the president’s power to take such action, but Grassley says Congress was supposed to have been given 30 days notice. Grassley says he wants to know why each of those inspectors was fired and why the notice wasn’t given, as required by law.
Grassley says, “Yeah, I’m working on a bipartisan letter to the president trying to get an explanation.”
Inspectors general are considered the government’s watchdogs, those who are to guard against waste, fraud and abuse. Grassley, a Republican, says he’s long championed the importance of transparency in government.
“IGs are not immune for removal, just that the president has to give Congress a 30-day notice and the rationale for removing people,” Grassley says, “and of course, they can be removed by the president, but the law must be followed.”
Reports say inspectors general were fired in federal departments including: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and several others.
“The whole idea behind the 30-day period of time is to make sure that we have continuity in the Inspector General’s Office,” Grassley says. “So the president has gotten rid of 17. He probably shouldn’t have done that without having a replacement.”
During the first Trump administration, the president fired at least two inspectors general in 2020, prompting Grassley to hold up several of Trump’s nominees to various posts until the actions were explained. Grassley was asked if he’d be putting up similar roadblocks now, to uphold the system of checks and balances.
Grassley says, “Well, I think that I’m going to get this letter written and wait for a response before I take any further action.”
Grassley could hold up several of Trump’s high-profile nominations this week, should he choose to do so. Grassley will chair a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing tomorrow on the nomination of Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and later, the Senate Finance Committee considers Robert F. Kennedy Junior as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Also, the Judiciary Committee will consider Kash Patel’s nomination as FBI director on Thursday.