Several inspectors general are out of a job after President Donald Trump informed them they were fired on Friday evening.
Approximately 17 of them were fired without notice via email, USA Today reported on Saturday, noting an official who lost their job confirmed the information to the newspaper.
The outlet continued:
The inspectors general are independent watchdogs within agencies who investigate and disclose waste, fraud and abuse.
Those fired Friday include inspectors at the Pentagon and departments of State, Veterans Affairs and Interior, which oversees marine oil and gas leases as well as Indian Affairs, said the fired official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The news was first reported by the Washington Post which said most of the individuals were appointed during 2017 to 2021 in Trump’s first term, the Today article read.
In a letter on Friday, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Chairperson Hannibal “Mike” Ware wrote to Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House, Sergio Gor, about the firings.
“I recommend that you reach out to White House Council to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General,” he wrote, citing amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978 that says the president must notify Congress 30 days before firing an inspector general and give reasons for it.
Hours after Trump took the oath of office on Monday, Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) chief David Pekoske was forced out of his job, Breitbart News reported.
The article continued:
Pekoske was originally nominated to the position by Trump in 2017 and was reconfirmed to the role in 2022 during Biden’s lone term. It was reported that he planned to stay in office until his current five-year term was up, but now that is not to be.
…
The TSA came under fire when it became known that the agency had placed former Democrat congresswoman and Trump ally Tulsi Gabbard on a watch list called “Quiet Skies.”
Trump also began firing career employees at the Justice Department on Wednesday after vowing in 2023 to “demolish the ‘deep state,'” according to Breitbart News.
