In the suit filed on Wednesday, eight former inspectors general from eight government departments and agencies including defense, veterans affairs, health and human services, state, agriculture, education, labor and the Small Business Administration, said they were seeking “redress for their unlawful and unjustified purported termination” by Trump and their respective agency heads.
“Because the purported removals were illegal and hence a nullity, the actions just described constituted illegal interference with the IGs’ official duties,” the lawsuit says, adding that “neither President Trump nor anyone else in his administration has claimed that the purported removals complied with the IG Act”.
As part of the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that their purported removals were legal nullities and so they remain as inspectors general of their agencies unless and until the president lawfully removes them in compliance with statutory procedures.
“Instead, President Trump falsely claimed after the fact that such removals were ‘a very common thing to do’ and ‘a very standard thing to do’,” the lawsuit says, alleging that Trump is “wrong to claim these actions were ‘common’ or ‘standard’”.
The lawsuit states that just four days into his second term, Trump, “acting through a two-sentence email sent by the director or deputy director of the office of presidential personnel, purported to remove from office (supposedly on account of ‘changing priorities’) nearly a score of IGs”.
