Inspectors-general sue Trump Administration after being fired by president

The eight inspectors general who were fired in late night purge allege their termination violated the law, adding to dozens of other legal challenges facing the president at the start of his new term.

Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office. Picture: AFP.

Eight inspectors general fired by President Trump in late January filed a lawsuit against the administration Wednesday alleging their termination violated the law, adding to dozens of other legal challenges facing the president at the start of his new term.

About 17 inspectors general were fired last month in a Friday night purge by the White House, which didn’t publicly announce the moves or provide an explanation as to why the officials lost their jobs. The firings led to concerns from both Democrats and some Republicans that the administration might have violated federal rules that require advance notice to Congress before such firings.

The suit cites federal laws that say presidents must give a 30-day notification to Congress and provide specific reasons for terminations of an inspector general. Congress strengthened the IG Act three years ago after Trump’s moves against inspectors general in his first term.

IGs from the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Labor and State as well as Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Defendants include Trump and the heads of agencies where the plaintiffs worked.

WilmerHale lawyers David Ogden, deputy attorney general under former President Barack Obama, and Seth Waxman, U.S. solicitor general under former President Bill Clinton, are representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“The IGs are bringing this action for reinstatement so that they can go back to work fighting fraud, waste, and abuse on behalf of the American public,” said Michael Missal, former inspector general for Veterans Affairs and a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The suit adds to dozens of other legal challenges to Trump’s agenda, including efforts to downsize the federal workforce, freeze federal spending and end birthright citizenship.

The lawsuit says the IGs who were fired lost access to their email accounts and computer systems and were blocked from entering the buildings where they worked. Such actions “constituted illegal interference with the IGs’ official duties,” the lawsuit states. Because the firings were allegedly illegal, the plaintiffs “remain duly appointed IGs of their respective agencies,” it states.

The firings on Jan. 24 were conducted in an email by Sergio Gor, director of presidential personnel, according to a copy of an email cited in the lawsuit. None of the plaintiffs have been contacted by Trump.

Democrats widely denounced the firings, and even some Republicans raised concerns. “I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands wasn’t provided to Congress,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a longtime champion of independent IGs, said after the firings were made public.

IGs are tasked with scrutinising the actions of federal agencies to make sure they comply with laws and don’t misuse authority or taxpayer money. They have investigative powers and can respond to congressional requests for internal probes.

Trump has targeted other federal watchdogs and law-enforcement officials in recent weeks. On Monday, the Office of Government Ethics said Trump had removed its director, David Huitema, who had been confirmed by the Senate in November for a five-year term. Trump’s Justice Department has fired lawyers who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s two prosecutions of the president.

Trump has accused IGs of being against his agenda and insufficient in their loyalties – even when he had appointed them. In April 2020, he fired intelligence community IG Michael Atkinson – his own appointee – after he had informed Congress about a whistleblower complaint concerning a phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call was the basis of Trump’s first impeachment.

Other presidents have fired IGs in the past, but rarely have they done so in such sweeping fashion since the executive branch’s watchdog system was created in 1978. When he took office in 1981, Republican President Ronald Reagan fired all existing IGs, who had been selected by his Democratic predecessor, Jimmy Carter. Facing intense criticism, Reagan later rehired about half of them.

Dow Jones