President of the United States donald trump Democrats and others on Saturday criticized the late-night shooting of inspectors general at multiple government agencies and raised eyebrows from at least one fellow Republican.
In what critics called a late-night purge, Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs on Friday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, a move that clears the path to replacing the independent watchdogs with loyalists.
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a longtime Democratic opponent of Trump, said the action was a clear violation of the law.
“Trump has no desire to serve in office,” Schiff said in a post on the X platform.
“This is a common thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He did not say who would be installed in the vacant positions.
Sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity that emails from the White House personnel director notified inspectors general at agencies including state departments, defense and transportation.
The firings come less than a week into Trump’s second term in office and appear to violate federal law.
In a letter to White House personnel director Sergio Gor, the council said the law requires the president to give Congress “substantial justification, including detailed and case-specific reasons.”
An email Gor sent to the fired inspector cited “changes in priorities” as the reason for the firing, according to Politico’s letter.
Senator Hannibal Ware said: “At this point, we do not believe that the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss the President’s appointment.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich said the firing was “clearly unlawful.”
The Inspector General is an independent position that conducts audits and investigations into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of power.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime supporter of the inspector general, said he wanted to know why Trump fired the watchdog.
“There may be good cause for termination. If so, I would like to explain further,” Grassley said in a statement to Congress.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso said he believed Trump would make a sound decision to the inspector general. “Some of these people should be fired,” he told Fox News.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the firings a “chilling purge” and previewed the Trump administration’s “lawless approach.”
The president’s order, returned on Jan. 20, moved forward to reshape the federal bureaucracy with Trump’s orders to undo diversity programs, revoke job incentives and more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials.
The New York Times reported that Friday’s firings gave Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz a break. The Washington Post first reported the firings, saying most were appointees from Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Among the inspectors fired by Trump were John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, a source familiar with the issue said. Sources said he was fired Friday night even though his surgery was set to close in September.
Many politically appointed agency and department leaders come and go with each administration, but inspectors general can serve under multiple presidents.
During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors in two months in 2020. That includes the State Department’s inspector general, who played a role in the president’s impeachment proceedings.
Last year, Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, fired the Amtrak inspector general after an investigation found the official created a hostile work environment.
In 2022, Congress tightened protections for inspectors general, making it difficult to replace them with hand-selected officials and requiring additional explanation from the president for removal.
