By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the panel’s top Democrat asked U.S. President Donald Trump to detail his rationale for firing 18 inspectors general that provide oversight at U.S. government agencies.
Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin called on Trump to “immediately” provide the lawfully required substantive rationale, to share the names of each official who will serve in an interim capacity –and noted the law requires 30 days’ notice before the government watchdogs can be fired.
“The law must be followed. The communication to Congress must contain more than just broad and vague statements; rather, it must include 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” the senators wrote.
They also called on Trump to “work quickly to nominate qualified and non-partisan individuals to serve in these open positions.”
Trump fired the IGs at the State, Defense, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and other departments.
The White House did not immediately comment.
Inspectors general are independent watchdogs tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. They are nonpartisan, and typically serve in their posts across multiple presidential administrations, regardless of which party controls the White House – investigating a wide range of issues from oversight of the Boeing 737 MAX production issues to military aid to Ukraine.
Inspectors general were abruptly fired on Friday evening from agencies such as the Department of Defense and Department of State, despite a legal requirement for the president to notify Congress 30 days in advance and provide a detailed explanation for their removal.
Their removal has raised alarm bells among Democrats and others in the inspectors general community, amid concerns that Trump may try to replace them with loyalists.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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