Trump dismisses general inspectors of more than ten federal agencies; They denounce that there was no timely notice to Congress

CNN
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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, dismissed the general inspectors of more than a dozen federal agencies in a purge held on Friday night, according to an official of the Trump administration, racing the way for him to install his own chosen for independent surveillance roles.

The general inspectors of the agencies received an email on Friday night from Sergio Gor, the head of the Office of Presidential Personnel of the White House, informing them that “changing priorities” had led to their positions to be “finished” with effect with effect Immediate, according to a person familiar with the matter. The change affected a wide strip of the Federal Government, including the departments of state, energy, interior, defense and transport.

During Trump’s first mandate, he dismantled his administration of independent government vigilantes that he considered unfair. The Inspector General (IG) office carries out research and audits about any possible misconduct, fraud, waste or abuse by a government agency or its staff, and issues reports and recommendations on their findings. An IG office is intended to operate independently.

In part as a reaction to the latest layoffs of general inspectors by Trump, Congress created new barriers to protect them. A 2023 law requires that the White House provide a substantial justification to dismiss any inspector general.

The layoffs have raised concern among some senators of the Republican Party (GOP), including the president of the Judicial Committee of the Senate, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a well -known “vigilant” of the IG, who said that Congress was not given the notice of 30 days by the White House required by Federal Law.

CNN contacted the White House to request comments.

The Washington Post was the first to inform about the dismissals.

Republican senators, including majority leader John Thune from South Dakota, said no prior notice or explanation about the decision of the White House were given.

“I have not done it, so I better reserve my comment. I’m sure I will, ”Thune told CNN.

Other senators of the Republican Party expressed concern about the fact of not having received notice and about the generalized nature of layoffs.

“What I understand is that it is relatively unprecedented that there was no warning,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alask Of the various agencies, but … the summary dismissal of all, I think it has generated concerns. ”

Pressing if she wanted the White House to provide more information, Murkowski said she would trust Grassley to “help guide them through this.”

“There may be a good reason why IG said,” said Grassley this Saturday in a statement provided by his office. “We need to know that if so. I would like a more detailed explanation of President Trump. Anyway, the 30 -day removal notice required by law was not provided to Congress. ”

Senator Susan Collins also expressed concern about the dismissals, arguing that the act of saying goodbye to Trump’s declared objective to end corruption.

“I do not understand why individuals would be dismissed whose mission is to detect waste, fraud and abuse. So this leaves a void in what I know is a priority for President Trump, ”said Maine’s Republican to journalists.

Senator Mike Rounds said the president should have the opportunity to explain his decision. “Honestly, I would only be guessing at this time about what it really implies. So I will wait and discover what that means in terms of other people to take control. Are there attachments that assume the position? Was it specific for individuals? I just don’t have that information, ”he said.

“I learned briefly this morning. I am sure there will be a discussion about it here, but I don’t know what its logic was and I don’t know the reasons. We will give you the opportunity to explain that, ”added the South Dakota Republican.

The Democrats criticized the dismissals, and the senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, described the measure of “a chilling purge” and warned that the dismissals could initiate “a golden era for abuse in government and even corruption.”