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(Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
'The Senate Must Demand Answers' Over Trump's Purge of Inspectors General
Their dismissals raise "significant concerns about maintaining the integrity and continuity of oversight," according to civil society groups.
Feb 11, 2025
Nine civil society groups are demanding that the Senate take action "to reaffirm its oversight role" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's removal of at least 17 inspectors general at various federal agencies last month—a move that critics have called illegal.
Inspectors general are independent government watchdogs who are tasked with detecting and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies. They were installed as part of post-Watergate reforms.
The work of inspectors general is "especially important during times of presidential transition to ensure that agencies continue to operate effectively and serve the public," wrote the authors of the letter, which was addressed to the members of the U.S. Senate and dated Tuesday.
"The removal of multiple [inspectors general] at once raises significant concerns about maintaining the integrity and continuity of oversight. These abrupt dismissals undermine the ability of [inspectors general] to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, potentially deterring accountability at a critical time," they added.
The letter is signed by nine groups: American Oversight; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; Hispanic Leadership Fund; National Taxpayers Union; Project on Government Oversight; Public Citizen; R Street Institute; Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
"The Senate must demand answers," according to the groups, because federal law mandates that the president must give Congress 30 days advance notice of intent to remove an inspector general, along with the reason for the removal.
Hannibal Ware, chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, cast doubt on the legality of the firings in a January 24 letter sent to Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, in response to the removals.
"I recommend that you reach out to White House counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general," Ware wrote in the letter.
One of the inspectors general at the time described the removals as a "widespread massacre."
Viewed with hindsight, the firings of the inspectors general can be seen as an opening salvo in a string of high-profile, legally dubious removals that Trump has carried out over the past few weeks.
Trump recently dismissed a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board and "purportedly" removed the special counsel at the Office of Special Counsel, in both cases prompting lawsuits, among other removals.
Some senators, for their part, have already condemned Trump's removal of the inspectors general. Last week, over three dozen senators signed a letter to Trump saying that his actions violated removal protections and that they should be reinstated.
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citizens for responsibility and ethics in washingtondonald trumpproject on government oversightsenateinspectors general
Nine civil society groups are demanding that the Senate take action "to reaffirm its oversight role" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's removal of at least 17 inspectors general at various federal agencies last month—a move that critics have called illegal.
Inspectors general are independent government watchdogs who are tasked with detecting and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies. They were installed as part of post-Watergate reforms.
The work of inspectors general is "especially important during times of presidential transition to ensure that agencies continue to operate effectively and serve the public," wrote the authors of the letter, which was addressed to the members of the U.S. Senate and dated Tuesday.
"The removal of multiple [inspectors general] at once raises significant concerns about maintaining the integrity and continuity of oversight. These abrupt dismissals undermine the ability of [inspectors general] to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, potentially deterring accountability at a critical time," they added.
The letter is signed by nine groups: American Oversight; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; Hispanic Leadership Fund; National Taxpayers Union; Project on Government Oversight; Public Citizen; R Street Institute; Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
"The Senate must demand answers," according to the groups, because federal law mandates that the president must give Congress 30 days advance notice of intent to remove an inspector general, along with the reason for the removal.
Hannibal Ware, chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, cast doubt on the legality of the firings in a January 24 letter sent to Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, in response to the removals.
"I recommend that you reach out to White House counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general," Ware wrote in the letter.
One of the inspectors general at the time described the removals as a "widespread massacre."
Viewed with hindsight, the firings of the inspectors general can be seen as an opening salvo in a string of high-profile, legally dubious removals that Trump has carried out over the past few weeks.
Trump recently dismissed a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board and "purportedly" removed the special counsel at the Office of Special Counsel, in both cases prompting lawsuits, among other removals.
Some senators, for their part, have already condemned Trump's removal of the inspectors general. Last week, over three dozen senators signed a letter to Trump saying that his actions violated removal protections and that they should be reinstated.
From Your Site Articles
Nine civil society groups are demanding that the Senate take action "to reaffirm its oversight role" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's removal of at least 17 inspectors general at various federal agencies last month—a move that critics have called illegal.
Inspectors general are independent government watchdogs who are tasked with detecting and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies. They were installed as part of post-Watergate reforms.
The work of inspectors general is "especially important during times of presidential transition to ensure that agencies continue to operate effectively and serve the public," wrote the authors of the letter, which was addressed to the members of the U.S. Senate and dated Tuesday.
"The removal of multiple [inspectors general] at once raises significant concerns about maintaining the integrity and continuity of oversight. These abrupt dismissals undermine the ability of [inspectors general] to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, potentially deterring accountability at a critical time," they added.
The letter is signed by nine groups: American Oversight; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; Hispanic Leadership Fund; National Taxpayers Union; Project on Government Oversight; Public Citizen; R Street Institute; Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
"The Senate must demand answers," according to the groups, because federal law mandates that the president must give Congress 30 days advance notice of intent to remove an inspector general, along with the reason for the removal.
Hannibal Ware, chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, cast doubt on the legality of the firings in a January 24 letter sent to Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, in response to the removals.
"I recommend that you reach out to White House counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general," Ware wrote in the letter.
One of the inspectors general at the time described the removals as a "widespread massacre."
Viewed with hindsight, the firings of the inspectors general can be seen as an opening salvo in a string of high-profile, legally dubious removals that Trump has carried out over the past few weeks.
Trump recently dismissed a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board and "purportedly" removed the special counsel at the Office of Special Counsel, in both cases prompting lawsuits, among other removals.
Some senators, for their part, have already condemned Trump's removal of the inspectors general. Last week, over three dozen senators signed a letter to Trump saying that his actions violated removal protections and that they should be reinstated.
From Your Site Articles
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