Trump firing government watchdogs is ‘clear violation of law’, says Adam Schiff
Trump firing government watchdogs is ‘clear violation of law’, says Adam Schiff
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US senator adds to chorus of criticism of president, who fired inspectors at departments including state and defense. Donald Trump’s firing of more than a dozen independent federal government watchdogs late on Friday was a “clear violation of law”, says US senator Adam Schiff, one of the president’s fiercest political opponents.
“Yeah, he broke the law,” the California Democrat said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “And not just any law – but a law meant to crowd out waste, fraud and abuse.”. Schiff’s remarks add to a chorus of criticism against Trump, who capped off the first work week of his second presidency by dismissing the inspectors general at agencies including the departments of state, defense and transportation with immediate effect via Friday night emails.
The dismissals ostensibly aim to clear the way for Trump to appoint loyalist replacements. They also evidently violate federal law, which requires the president to give both the US House and Senate reasons for the dismissals as well as 30 days’ notice. Among those to make that assertion was Hannibal “Mike” Ware, chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General.
“At this point,” Ware wrote in a letter addressed to the White House, “we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed inspectors general.”. Schiff on Sunday reminded Meet the Press viewers that Trump during his first presidency fired the inspector general of the US intelligence community amid political backlash over his administration’s botched handling of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. That inspector general, Michael Atkinson, had relayed to Congress a whistleblower complaint that he deemed credible and alleged Trump abused his office by attempting to have Ukraine investigate his political rivals.
