Late Friday night, President Trump abruptly fired at least 12 inspectors general, defying a law that requires 30 days’ notice and detailed rationale to be provided to Congress, according to NYT sources. The firings targeted watchdogs in agencies from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration.
Emails from the White House cited “changing priorities” as the reason for the terminations, but the lack of prior notice violated Congress’s safeguards to prevent unchecked removals.
It was not clear whether the departments of State and the Treasury were included.
Some of the inspectors general reportedly dismissed were Trump appointees. Senior Trump administration officials added to the confusion by providing conflicting accounts late Friday about the exact number of officials removed, reflecting either broader disarray and poor communication within the administration or the inherent opacity of the actions taken.
The dismissals are a direct violation of federal law, which mandates a 30-day notice to Congress before the removal of inspectors general. The law explicitly requires presidents to provide detailed and case-specific reasons for such dismissals, a provision designed to protect the independence of these watchdogs and uphold checks and balances.
§3. Appointment of Inspector General; supervision; removal; political activities; appointment of Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.
(b) An Inspector General may be removed from office by the President. If an Inspector General is removed from office or is transferred to another position or location within an establishment, the President shall communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress, not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized by law, other than transfer or removal. (UsCode.House.Gov, Congress.gov)
Despite the legal framework, some Republican lawmakers defended the president’s authority, with Senator Tom Cotton claiming Trump has the right to replace inspectors general in efforts to address waste and fraud. However, the firings contravene the statutory requirements outlined by Congress.
Senator Charles E. Grassley and his fellow Republican senator from Iowa, Joni Ernst, recently co-founded a bipartisan inspector general caucus to support the watchdog officials. “I’d like further explanation from President Trump,” Mr. Grassley said. “Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Ms. Ernst said she “looks forward to learning more about this decision and working with the president to nominate replacements, so the important work of independent investigators to root out waste, fraud and abuse can continue with full transparency.”
“Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse and preventing misconduct,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”
Trent Morse, deputy director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, sent emails notifying the inspectors general of their dismissals, ending the messages with a note of thanks for their service. Later that evening, Hannibal Ware, the inspector general for the Small Business Administration and chair of the council overseeing agency watchdogs, wrote to Sergio Gor, head of the White House personnel office, challenging the validity of the terminations on the grounds that they violated the 30-day notice requirement mandated by law.
“I recommend that you reach out to White House counsel to discuss your intended course of action,” Mr. Ware wrote. “At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general.”
In the letter, Mr. Ware also identified himself as one of the people who had been told they were fired. The Washington Post earlier reported the firings on Friday night and on Saturday morning Politico earlier reported on the Ware letter.
What are these watchdogs for?
The watchdogs often expose incompetence or misconduct. Congress established inspectors general in 1978 as part of post-Watergate reforms following the scandal. The purpose of the inspectors general was to have independent watchdogs within federal agencies who are not controlled by the agency heads. Over time, their ranks grew to 74 across the executive branch, though only 36 are Senate-confirmed, presidentially appointed positions.
Traditionally, inspectors general remain in their roles as nonpartisan officials when new presidents take office, with removals being rare unless misconduct is involved. However, in 2020, President Trump dismissed or sidelined several inspectors general who were perceived as aggressively investigating his administration, claiming they had treated him “very unfairly.”
The dismissals occurred amidst Trump’s efforts to reshape the government by removing officials he believed were undermining him. Among those dismissed was Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who handled the whistle-blower complaint that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Sources
Associated Press. (2025, January 26). Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/4e8bc57e132c3f9a7f1c2a3754359993
Politico. (2025, January 26). Adam Schiff says Trump ‘broke the law’ in firing inspectors general. Politico. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/26/schiff-trump-inspector-generals-00200633
Reuters. (2025, January 26). Some Senate Republicans defend Trump’s firing of inspectors general. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/some-senate-republicans-defend-trumps-firing-17-inspectors-general-2025-01-26/
Axios. (2025, January 25). Trump fires inspectors general in sweeping shake-up. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/2025/01/25/trump-fires-inspectors-general
NPR. (2025, January 25). Trump fires inspectors general across multiple agencies, raising legal and ethical concerns. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2025/01/25/g-s1-44771/trump-fires-inspectors-general
ABC News. (2025, January 25). Trump fires 17 independent watchdogs at multiple agencies late Friday night. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-fires-17-independent-watchdogs-multiple-agencies-late/story?id=118097873
