Trump fires 17 inspectors general in Friday night ‘massacre’

A question of federal law was raised after President Donald Trump’s Office of Presidential Personnel committed a “widespread massacre” comprised mostly of his own appointments.

Over the course of his first week back in the White House, the president had taken strides to fulfill his promise to drain the swamp. Friday, this included a decision to terminate at least 17 inspectors general according to reports that also suggested Trump may have broken the law by failing to give Congress ample notice.

“The inspectors general were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, according to people familiar with the situation, who like others in this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private messages,” detailed The Washington Post. “The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire the inspectors general.”

The newspaper specified that the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation and Veteran Affairs along with the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and Social Security Administration were impacted, while The New York Times noted at least 17 IGs had been caught up in what one described to the Post as “a widespread massacre.”

“Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system,” the anonymous individual went on as another claimed Trump “does not want anyone in this role who is going to be independent.”

The Post did note that “Most of those dismissed were Trump appointees from his first term, which stunned the watchdog community.”

Hannibal Ware, SBA inspector general, who leads the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, wrote in a letter to White House Director of Presidential Personnel Sergio Gor obtained by Politico, “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.”

He specifically cited the Inspector General Act of 1978, which had been amended in 2022, that required “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for a removal in addition to the 30-day notice.

Prior to the amendment, leftists had railed against Trump for taking similar action in 2020, clearing the way for him to appoint five inspectors general, as a new battle over the president’s constitutional authority over executive branch employees was likely to ensue.

“It’s a purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night,” decried Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) in her latest rant against the president. “Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct. President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”

Meanwhile, America First Legal filed a FOIA request in May 2024 that asserted of the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General, “Despite this unambiguous obligation to avoid the appearance of political or partisan considerations, there is evidence that the Office of the Inspector General is deeply infected with partisan actors.”

Kevin Haggerty

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