Late on Friday, President Donald Trump fired the inspectors general of more than a dozen major federal agencies, a shocking and possibly illegal move that could pave the way for Trump to pack these positions with loyalists who will overlook government waste and corruption.
Two people familiar with the action who spoke on condition of anonymity could not confirm the exact number of firings, but one of the fired government watchdogs said “roughly 17” inspectors general had been removed.
Those 17 dismissals, done without the required 30-day notice to Congress, raise serious questions about whether Republicans in Congress will continue to stand up for oversight or simply let Trump gut the system of checks and balances.
The inspectors general were responsible for making sure federal agencies don’t waste taxpayer dollars or break the law.
“As chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), I recommend that you reach out to White House Counsel to discuss your intended course of action,” said Hannibal “Mike” Ware in a letter to Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. “At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General.”
According to the letter, Gor sent the Inspectors General an email that stated, “due to changing priorities, your position as Inspectors General… is terminated effective immediately.”
Gor is a political operative who worked as a Fox News booker, spokesman for Senator Rand Paul, the officiant at Matt Gaetz’s wedding, and leader of the Right for America super PAC supporting Trump in 2024. He was hired in Trump’s second term after co-founding Winning Team Publishing with Donald Trump Jr.
The role of the modern-day inspector general dates to post-Watergate Washington, when Congress installed offices inside agencies as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of power. Though inspectors general are presidential appointees, some serve presidents of both parties. All are expected to be nonpartisan.
The president-elect’s allies have called for a wholesale replacement of the more than 70 inspectors general across the federal government.
In the wake of Trump’s election, CIA Inspector General Robin Ashton and Intelligence Community Inspector General Thomas Monheim revealed they were leaving the government.
Trump’s move to oust them—many of whom were his own appointees from his first term—looks like a blatant power grab, especially when you consider his long history of going after anyone who investigates him or his administration.
The affected agencies included the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration.
“Inspectors General are the cops on the beat preventing bad things from happening,” said Max Stier, president of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. “Their work saves the taxpayer tens of billions of dollars every year.”
“In his first week in office, President Trump has shown his first priority is to gut our checks and balances to put himself first, not the American people,” said Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog group, Accountable.US. “This is a blatant power grab that will give powerful special interests and mega-donors more control with little oversight, and ensure that corruption by government officials goes undetected.”
“Considering the ethical issues of Trump’s agency appointees, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Trump administration holds contempt for independent inspectors general who play a critical role in exposing waste, fraud, corruption and potential public harm,” said Carrk.
This latest purge could be part of a broader plan. Just before taking office for a second term, Trump pushed for Congress to give him a blank check to raise the national debt with no limits.
He already racked up $8 trillion in new debt during his first term, and without oversight, there’s no telling how much further he’d go. Combine that with firing independent watchdogs and it’s clear: Trump wants total control.
The firings came in the middle of the night, with the White House sending out mass emails to the inspectors general, firing them without even bothering to inform Congress in advance.
“Trump’s Friday night coup to overthrow legally protected independent inspectors general is an attack on transparency and accountability, essential ingredients in our democratic form of government,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee and one of several Democrats who criticized the late-night Friday dismissals. “Replacing independent inspectors general with political hacks will harm every American who relies on social security, veterans benefits, and a fair hearing at IRS on refunds and audits.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren called it “a purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night” aimed at “dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”
This could violate federal law, but Trump is betting that no one will stop him and observers suspect that most Republicans are too cowardly to say anything.
While a few Republicans, like Sen. Chuck Grassley, have questioned the legality of the firings, many others are too afraid or unwilling to take action.
“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so,” said Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.”
“I don’t understand why one would fire individuals whose mission it is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. This leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump. So I don’t understand it,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, who noted that those positions are crucial to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, which is one of the president’s stated goals.
The dismissals, done without the required 30-day notice to Congress, raise serious questions about whether Republicans in Congress will continue to stand up for oversight or simply let Trump gut the system of checks and balances.
The inspectors general were responsible for making sure federal agencies don’t waste taxpayer dollars or break the law.
Trump’s move to oust them looks like a blatant power grab, especially when you consider his long history of going after anyone who investigates him or his administration.
This latest purge could be part of a broader plan. Just before taking office for a second term, Trump pushed for Congress to give him a blank check to raise the national debt with no limits.
He racked up $8 trillion in new debt during his first term, and without oversight, there’s no telling how much further he’d go.
Combine that with firing independent watchdogs and it’s clear: Trump wants total control.
The firings came in the middle of the night, with the White House sending out mass emails to the inspectors general, firing them without even bothering to inform Congress in advance.
By refusing to stand up to Trump, Republicans in Congress are letting him rip apart the very system that holds his government accountable.
If the GOP lets him replace these independent watchdogs with cronies, it will be clear: they are more interested in protecting Trump than doing their jobs.
This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted watchdogs. He’s done it before, firing key figures who were investigating his actions.
The removal of these inspectors general is just the latest step in his ongoing attempt to expand executive power while keeping anyone who could hold him accountable at arm’s length.
And it’s not just about Trump.
By undermining the inspectors general, the president is dismantling one of the few remaining systems that ensures transparency in government and protects taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Republicans who remain silent are complicit in this attack on democracy.
The real question now is whether Republicans in Congress will continue to let Trump get away with it. Will they stand up for the Constitution, or will they let an authoritarian regime take root in the White House? The clock is ticking.
