US inspectors general fired by Trump sue to win jobs back
Several federal watchdogs fired by Donald Trump have filed a lawsuit against his administration to get their jobs back.
In the suit filed on Wednesday, eight former inspectors general from eight government 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.
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'.
It also says that the fired officials were 'appointed by and/or served under presidents of both parties', including Trump during his first term.
Altogether, the inspectors general who were fired were responsible for conducting and facilitating oversight of more than $5tn of appropriated funds annually and more than 3.5 million federal employees, or 80% of the federal workforce.
The lawsuit alleges: 'Despite the obvious illegality of these purported terminations, the head of each affected agency – including the eight heads of plaintiffs' respective agencies–effectuated and continue to effectuate the purported removals.'
It adds that the eight federal agencies removed the inspectors general from their access to their government email accounts and computer systems, government-issued phones, personal ID cards and computers.
The inspectors general were also alleged to have been banned from entering the government buildings where they worked, with the lawsuit stating that 'these actions have had their intended effect of making it impossible for the IGs to perform their lawful duties'.
'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 'neither President Trump nor anyone else in his administration has claimed that the purported removals complied with the IG Act'.
'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'.
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. Additionally, the plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants or anyone working in concert with them from impeding the lawful exercises of the duties of their office, the lawsuit says.
Wednesday's lawsuit follows Trump's sacking of 18 inspectors general less than a month after he returned to the White House.
Hannibal 'Mike' Ware, one of the plaintiffs in Wednesday's lawsuit and former inspector general for the Small Business Administration, told MSNBC last month: 'This is not about any of our individual jobs. We acknowledge that the president has the right to remove any of us that he chooses. But the protections that were baked into the act is everything, absent having to provide a real reason. We're looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight, and a threat to transparency in government.'
Similarly, Mark Greenblatt, the former inspector general of the interior department, told CNN that the firings 'should be setting off alarm bells'.
'The whole construct of inspectors general, it's based on us being independent, that we're not beholden to a political party of any stripe, that we are there as the taxpayers' representatives to call balls and strikes without any dog in the fight. And so the question is: what will President Trump do with these positions? Is he going to nominate watchdogs or is he going to nominate lapdogs?' said Greenblatt.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
26 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump's financial disclosures reveal millions in income from guitars, bibles and watches with his name on them
President Donald Trump continues to enjoy income streams from scores of luxury properties and business ventures, many of which are worth tens of millions of dollars, according to a financial disclosure form filed late Friday. Released by the Office of Government Ethics, Trump's 2025 financial disclosure spans 234 pages in all, including 145 pages of stock and bond investments, and is dated Friday with Trump's signature. One of the largest sources of income on the form is the $57,355,532 he received from his ownership stake in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency platform launched last year. The form shows that World Liberty's sales of digital tokens have been highly lucrative for Trump and his family. Trump's three sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, are listed on the company's website as co-founders of the firm. Separately, Trump's meme coin, known on crypto markets simply as $TRUMP, was not released until January and is therefore not subject to the disclosure requirements for this form, which covered the calendar year 2024. It was a lucrative year for Trump when it came to royalty payments for the various goods that are sold featuring his name and likeness. Among the royalty payments: Save America (coffee table book) — $3,000,000 Trump Sneakers and Fragrances — $2,500,000 Trump Watches — $2,800,000 The Greenwood Bible — $1,306,035 '45' Guitar — $1,055,100 NFT licensing and royalties — $1,157,490 The filing also includes a listing of liabilities, including at least $15,000 on an American Express credit card and payments due to E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued Trump over sexual abuse and defamation, though the president is still seeking to appeal the decision. The rest of the document contains dozens of pages of lengthy footnotes about the president's various assets. The form was filed to comply with federal requirements for Executive Branch office holders. By comparison, the form that former President Joe Biden filed in 2024 was 11 pages and consisted largely of conventional sources of income like bank and retirement accounts, while Kamala Harris's was 15 pages. Many of Trump's key assets are held in a revocable trust overseen by Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son. This includes more than 100,000 shares of Trump Media and Technology Group, the social media company that went public in 2024. Trump is the largest shareholder, and his nearly 53% is worth billions of dollars. Those holdings were still disclosed in the form.
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Hundreds of Marines enter LA ahead of mass protest... but their mission is not what you'd expect
Marines were seen standing guard outside a federal building in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon as they started to take over the post from National Guard members after protests erupted last week over immigration raids and President Donald Trump deployed the troops to the city. Major General Scott Sherman, the commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 combined troops, said the Marines finished training on civil disturbance and are starting their operations by replacing Guard troops guarding the Wilshire Federal Building, which houses several federal offices. Guard soldiers can then be assigned to protect more law enforcement agents on raids, Sherman said. About 200 Marines out of the 700 deployed to the protests are in the city, Sherman said. It's unclear if the Marines will eventually provide security on raids. At 12:30pm, two Marines were seen standing at the entrance to the 17-story Wilshire Federal Building, wearing combat gear and carrying rifles as they mingled with Guard members, who have been checking IDs of people entering the parking lot. It is the same building that Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference and handcuffed by officers as he tried to speak up about the immigration raids. As the Trump administration targets migrants around the country for detainment and deportation, the raids have led to the arrests of asylum-seekers, people who overstayed their visas and migrants awaiting their day in immigration court. The Marines are taking their posts a day after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that had directed Trump to return control of Guard troops to California, shortly after a federal judge had ruled the Guard deployment was illegal, violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump's statutory authority. Some 2,000 Guard troops have been in the city since last week. Some have provided protection to immigration agents making arrests. Another 2,000 Guard members were notified of deployment earlier this week. None of the military troops will be detaining anyone, Sherman said. 'I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities,' Sherman said. 'Rather, they'll be focused on protecting federal law enforcement personnel.' Roughly 500 Guard members have been used to provide security on immigration raids after undergoing expanded instruction, legal training and rehearsals with the agents doing the enforcement before they go on those missions. An 8pm curfew has been in place in a 1-square-mile section of downtown. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles. Protests have ended after a few hours with arrests this week largely for failure to disperse. On the third night of the curfew, officers with the Department of Homeland Security deployed flash bangs to disperse a crowd that had gathered near a jail, sending protesters sprinting away. As with the past two nights, the hours long demonstrations remained peaceful and upbeat, drawing a few hundred attendees who marched through downtown chanting, dancing and poking fun at the Trump administration's characterization of the city as a 'war zone.' The protests began last Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Elsewhere, demonstrations have picked up across the US, emerging in more than a dozen major cities. Some have led to clashes with police, and hundreds have been arrested. Demonstrations are expected over the weekend in cities across the United States, and governors are weighing what to do should Trump send troops to other states for immigration enforcement. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called the troop deployment a 'serious breach of state sovereignty' and a power grab by Trump, and he has gone to court to stop it. The president has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' Under federal law, active-duty forces are prohibited by law from conducting law enforcement. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has put 5,000 Guard members on standby in cities where demonstrations are planned. In other Republican-controlled states, governors have not said when or how they may deploy troops. A group of Democratic governors earlier signed a statement this week calling Trump's 'an alarming abuse of power.' The Trump administration has said the troops are necessary to protect federal officers and quell unrest. In Los Angeles, troops work in shifts, and the public is likely to only see a few hundred out at a time, Sherman said. Much of the sprawling city has been spared from the protests. There have been about 500 arrests since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police In LA troops work in shifts, and the public is likely to only see a few hundred out at a time So far, the protests have been centered mostly downtown near City Hall and a federal detention center where some immigrants are being held. Much of the sprawling city has been spared from the protests. There have been about 500 arrests since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police department. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump urged EchoStar, FCC chair to cut a deal on spectrum -Bloomberg
WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump urged EchoStar Corp (SATS.O), opens new tab Chairman Charlie Ergen and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr to reach a deal over the fate of the company's wireless spectrum licenses, Bloomberg reported on Friday. EchoStar shares were up 52% in after-hours trading Friday on the report. On Thursday, Trump met with Ergen and he telephoned Carr, who came to the White House to join the meeting, Bloomberg reported. The White House and EchoStar declined to comment. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on Friday. EchoStar has been trying to shield its cache of wireless spectrum licenses from the threat of revocation by the FCC. U.S. satellite TV provider DirecTV terminated its agreement to acquire EchoStar's satellite television business last year, which includes rival Dish TV, over a failed debt-exchange offer. In May, the FCC told EchoStar it was investigating the company's compliance obligations to provide 5G service in the U.S., questioning EchoStar's buildout extension and mobile-satellite service. EchoStar said the FCC disclosure was "harming EchoStar's ongoing deployment and threaten its viability as a wireless provider as well as endanger the video and broadband satellite services upon which millions of consumers rely." The company added "the possibility of reversing prior grants of authority related to spectrum for which EchoStar paid billions and in which it invested billions more, in contravention of long-standing commission precedent." EchoStar has previously disclosed that it missed roughly $500 million in interest payments, citing uncertainty around the ongoing FCC review.
