28-01-2025
President Trump lays off 17 inspectors general. Here's what they do in that job
Just before the weekend, President Donald Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general in federal agencies including the Pentagon, departments of State, Veterans Affairs and Interior – by email and without notice – an anonymous fired official confirmed to USA TODAY.
'During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in less than two months in 2020,' USA TODAY's Saturday, Jan. 25 report said. 'This included the State Department, whose inspector general had played a role in the president's impeachment proceedings.'
And former President Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board last year, after an investigation found he created a hostile work environment.
But what, exactly, is an inspector general and how many are there? Here's what we know about the firings and what an inspector general's job is in a U.S. federal agency.
An inspector general is someone who leads independent investigations, audits or inspections when waste, fraud and/or abuse are suspected in the agencies they serve.
Here are the responsibilities of an inspector general, according to the Council of the Inspectors General and the Inspectors General Act of 1978:
Conduct independent and objective audits, investigations and inspections
Prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse,
Promote economy, effectiveness and efficiency,
Review pending legislation and regulation, and
Keep the agency head and Congress fully and currently informed.
According to the Council of Inspectors General, these positions act independently from the agencies they serve.
'While by law, IG's are under the general supervision of the agency head or deputy, neither the agency head nor the deputy can prevent or prohibit an IG from conducting an audit or investigation,' the council's website says.
According to the Council of Inspectors General, IGs are authorized to:
Have direct access to all records and information of the agency,
Have ready access to the agency head
Conduct such investigations and issue such reports as the IG thinks appropriate (with limited national security and law enforcement exceptions),
Issue subpoenas for information and documents outside the agency (with same limited exceptions),
Administer oaths for taking testimony
Hire and control their own staff and contract resources.
More on the firings: Donald Trump fires independent inspectors general at 17 federal agencies
The plural of inspector general is inspectors general, not inspectors generals or inspector generals.
President-appointed inspectors general can be fired by the president and inspectors general appointed by agency heads can be removed by the agencies that hired them. Either way, there has to be a 30-day notice to Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service's Rules for the Removal of Inspectors General.
'An Inspector General may be removed from office by the President,' the Congressional Research Service's rules say.
'If an Inspector General is removed from office or is transferred to another position or location within an establishment, the President shall communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress (including the appropriate congressional committees), not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.'
According to the rules, Congress can object to a presidential removal of an inspector general if lawmakers decide it interferes with the independent nature of the position.
'There are several examples of Presidents removing IGs. Across these actions, Congress has objected that the removals have the potential to undermine the actual and perceived independence of IGs,' the Congressional Research Service says.
There are more than 70 inspectors general in federal and state agencies, according to the Department of State's Office of Inspector General (OIG).
'The Inspector General Act was signed into law in 1978, establishing the first 12 presidentially appointed Inspectors General in federal agencies,' the Department of State's OIG website says.
'There are now more than 70 statutory IGs, both presidentially appointed and appointed by agency heads. Collectively, they oversee the operations of nearly all aspects of federal government.'
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Trump inspector general firings: 17 removed. What they do in the job
