Fired inspectors general sue Trump administration: court filing
Eight of the 17 inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump have joined together in a lawsuit, alleging he violated the 30-day heads-up law. Congress must be notified 30 days in advance before firing an inspector general, according to the new lawsuit.
Politico's legal reporter Kyle Cheney wrote that Trump also ignored the rule on Wednesday morning when he fired the inspector general of USAID.
The first Friday night after he was inaugurated, Trump fired 17 inspectors general. The watchdogs who have joined the lawsuit include the inspectors general from the "Pentagon, Department of State, Education, Labor, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services," Cheney said of those among the eight.
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The Pentagon IG and Small Business Administration IG were appointed by Donald Trump during his first term.
Their jobs were established by Congress as investigatory positions within an agency "with law enforcement authority," as described by the Federal Reserve site. The position can also refer criminal matters to the attorney general. In 2022, Congress established a law that mandated Congress be informed about the termination 30 days prior.
"Trump has bristled at constraints on his authority to manage the executive branch, embracing the most muscular version of presidential power and daring the courts to keep him in check," wrote Cheney.
“The firing of the independent nonpartisan inspectors general was a clear violation of the law,” Michael Missal, the former Department of Veterans Affairs IG told Politico. “The IGs are bringing this action for reinstatement so that they can go back to work fighting fraud, waste and abuse on behalf of the American people.”
The lawsuit alleges that soon after they were informed they were being shoved out, “agency employees cut off each plaintiff’s access to government systems, collected each one’s assigned government equipment — computers, phones, and access badges — and arranged for plaintiffs to collect personal belongings from government buildings under supervision.”