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To: U.S. Congress
Trump Must Be Held Accountable For His Illegal Inspector General Purge
A president can’t illegally dismiss Inspectors General without repercussions and accountability. Congress must respond and push to have the Inspectors General reinstated immediately.
Why is this important?
Days ago, Trump removed a vital layer of oversight by purging over a dozen Senate-confirmed government watchdogs across Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury, and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration.
Trump claims, “It’s a very common thing to do.” It isn’t. What it is, is illegal.
But don’t ask us. Ask Senators Adam Schiff and Lindsey Graham, who agree that Trump’s Inspector General (IG) purge violates U.S. law. What they don’t agree on is what comes next — and that’s where you come in.
A president can’t illegally dismiss officials designed to hold him to account without repercussions. The Inspector General Act, originally passed in 1978 and updated just two years ago, allows a president to remove an IG. To do it, he has to give Congress 30 days' notice before the removal and explain the rationale for each removal.
Trump claims, “It’s a very common thing to do.” It isn’t. What it is, is illegal.
But don’t ask us. Ask Senators Adam Schiff and Lindsey Graham, who agree that Trump’s Inspector General (IG) purge violates U.S. law. What they don’t agree on is what comes next — and that’s where you come in.
A president can’t illegally dismiss officials designed to hold him to account without repercussions. The Inspector General Act, originally passed in 1978 and updated just two years ago, allows a president to remove an IG. To do it, he has to give Congress 30 days' notice before the removal and explain the rationale for each removal.
Neither requirement was satisfied when Trump fired as many as 17 IGs late on Friday, January 24, 2025.
The consequences of inaction at this moment could last generations. But together, we can demand justice and safeguard our democracy. Because when Congress acts, a president listens: In 2020, Sen. Chuck Grassley held up Trump nominees when he was angry about another dubious Trump firing of IGs. Decades earlier, when President Reagan summarily fired the IGs, congressional outcry got them reinstated.
Members of Congress have a fundamental and legal duty to make sure that Trump follows the law — and the kind of leverage to get these expert civil servants reinstated. People’s lives and safety are on the line and lawmakers must act immediately.