Two senior senators are calling out Donald Trump for illegally firing 18 inspectors general.
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While Republicans have been signing off on everything Donald Trump has done or proposed in his first week in office, on Tuesday, one of them drew a line.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and ranking Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) sent a letter to the president objecting to the firing of 18 inspectors general (IGs) without providing Congress with the legally mandated notice or reasons why they were dismissed.
The lawmakers remind Trump that “the president ‘shall’ communicate to Congress in writing 30 days before removing or transferring an IG from office the ‘substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons’ for the removal or transfer.”
In addition, Grassley and Durbin also note that it is illegal to place IGs on “non-duty status” during that 30-day period unless the president notifies Congress that the individual to be fired poses a threat to the government.
“While IGs aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed,” the lawmakers write. “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.”
Trump’s firing of the IGs reinforces concerns that he is seeking to place loyalists in every key governmental position, including those that are supposed to be independent and/or could investigate his administration’s wrongdoing.
Of course, during his brief time back in the White House, Trump has shown very little concern for the laws of the land.
However, until now, he has not been called out by any Republicans for his behavior, especially not anybody as senior as Grassley, who is a strong supporter of whistleblowers and government oversight.
While the senators are accusing Trump of breaking the law, the letter is cordial.
“IGs are critical to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct within the Executive Branch bureaucracy, which you have publicly made clear you are also intent on doing,” the senators write.
However, they also make it clear that the president must provide them with additional information or risk a first showdown with Congress.
“[We] request that you provide Congress with a written communication that contains the ‘substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons’ for each of the IG’s removed,” Grassley and Durbin write. “Further, we request the name of each official that will serve in an acting capacity and that you work quickly to nominate qualified and non-partisan individuals to serve in these open positions.”
When asked about the firings of the IGs and other government officials, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated during her first briefing that Trump “is the president and has the power to fire anyone he wishes.”
Of course, the law says differently in this case.
Grassley should know; he wrote it.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
