Since being sworn in as the 47th President on Monday, Donald Trump has been moving at full speed. Friday was no exception. The President traveled to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, meeting with politicians, first responders, and, most importantly, families affected by the floods and fires, assuring them that he was going to fix FEMA and the federal government's inefficient response.
He ended his day in Las Vegas, where he would give a speech on ending income tax on tips the next day. But before retiring for the evening, he took one last executive action, which would send Democrats spinning into an indignant rage: He fired 17 Inspector Generals.
Trump Cleans House, Fires 17 Inspectors General Overnight
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 25, 2025
https://t.co/9PHbe55RuG
IGs in the departments of Defense, State, HUD, Veterans Affairs, and others were terminated.
In the big picture of our bloated, oversized federal government, the office of Inspectors General is relatively new. It began in 1978 in the wake of the Watergate scandal. They are tasked with overseeing federal agencies. They are one of those positions that serve at the pleasure of the president, and the president was obviously not pleased.
Inspectors General are tasked with investigating government waste, fraud, and abuse. Operating independently, they have the authority to serve across multiple administrations, ensuring accountability and transparency within federal agencies.
First reported by the Washington Post, one of the terminated inspectors general described it as being “a widespread massacre.”
“Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system,” the person told the outlet.
Shortly after taking office, Ronald Reagan fired all of the IGs that Jimmy Carter appointed.
There has been no announcement from the Trump Administration if these will be the only IGs to be replaced.
‼️‼️TRUMP FIRES 17 INSPECTORS GENERALS in a late-night purge punctuating the end of his first five days in office. @RealDonaldTrump dismissed 17 federal agency watchdogs. I've covered these IGs for years -- and trust me when I say, even though they are charged with ferreting out… pic.twitter.com/ILwBW2NRxY
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) January 25, 2025
The entire post reads:
TRUMP FIRES 17 INSPECTORS GENERALS in a late-night purge punctuating the end of his first five days in office.
dismissed 17 federal agency watchdogs. I've covered these IGs for years -- and trust me when I say, even though they are charged with ferreting out waste and abuse, many have long histories of WHITEWASHING reports and playing politics with complaints - I have personal experience reporting on
and
and
IG misconduct. The
IG I reported on roughly a decade ago ended up getting fired. Among those spared Friday is current Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Jr., who is conducting multiple investigations into the
failures that led to two assassination attempts on President Trump's life. Cuffari Jr. is a Trump appointee from his first term who has faced more than his fair share of liberal attacks and lawfare. Also spared:Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz remained unaffected. The move follows Trump’s past efforts, including firing whistle-blower-linked Inspector General Michael Atkinson during his first impeachment trial.Source: Washington Post and New York Times
Twitchy favorite Mollie Hemingway also weighed in on the IG purge.
The worst IG -- Michael Horowitz -- is keeping his job for now. Why? He whitewashed DOJ's horrific abuse of power and used his office to go after political opponents. He should be gone. https://t.co/HhmBmuIo1F
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 25, 2025
It isn't known if Donald Trump will retain Horowitz's services or if Friday's terminations were just a first step in replacing IGs.
It's been the Democrats on Capital Hill that have had the strongest reactions to Trump's late-night IG purge.
This middle-of the-night purge of critical government watchdogs is a serious abuse of power.
— Senator Amy Klobuchar (@SenAmyKlobuchar) January 25, 2025
If anyone knows anything about abuse, it's Amy. Just ask some of her staffers.
You’re really one to talk about abuses of power, democrat.
— cactus girl 🌵 (@cactusncookies) January 26, 2025
Elections have consequences, and one week into the Trump Presidency, it's obvious that Democrats are not dealing with those consequences very well.
Donald Trump’s decision to fire twelve of the federal government’s independent watchdogs is a glaring sign that it’s a Golden Age for corruption and abuse in government.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 25, 2025
We will refer you back to Mollie's post about IG's whitewashing of actual corruption and abuse of power.
...the end of the golden age of corruption...
— TheBiggestOfAllEd's (@wonderlump) January 26, 2025
Fixed it for ya.
You know there can't be a statist meltdown without Adam Schiff jumping in on tantrum time.
The mass firing of Inspectors General by the Trump Administration without grounds and advance notice to Congress is a clear violation of the law.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) January 25, 2025
But, of course, we know the cause: Trump wants no accountability for malfeasance in office.
He is refilling the swamp.
This guy is more full of Schiff than a port-a-potty at a chili cook-off. We're becoming convinced that he has a few pre-written 'fill in the blank' type posts he's been using daily.
The why I won't vote for any cabinet nominee not named Rubio post.
The 'Trump is a threat to democracy' post.
And the 'Trump is a dictator and wants no accountability' post.
Adam is like a bad playlist on repeat. Same Schiff, over and over again.
Bwahahahahahhahaha *gasp* Bwahahahahahahhahahaha!
— Elaine (@elbh) January 25, 2025
That is precious. https://t.co/eUEysdT3MU
Schiff for Brains is referring to the 30-day rule established in 2022, which requires the President to give Congress 30 days' notice and a reason he intends to terminate an IG when he is fired for cause. It's not clear that the rule applies when a newly sworn-in President replaces IGs appointed by the last President with his own appointees, as Reagan did with Catrter's IGs.
Libs freaking out over Trump firing inspectors general
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 25, 2025
These are Biden-appointed officials
There’s nothing novel about replacing them with Trump appointees
It’d be crazy *not* to do this
Presidents should be able to fire every person in the executive branch other than the VP
At the end of the day, Trump is draining the swamp. Judging by the reaction, Democrats don't like the shallow water.
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