2020 dismissal of inspectors general

In April and May 2020, United States President Donald Trump dismissed the inspectors general (IGs) of five cabinet departments in the space of six weeks.[1][2] The inspectors general removed were Michael K. Atkinson, Intelligence, on April 3; Glenn Fine (acting), Defense, April 7; Christi Grimm (acting), Health and Human Services, May 1; Mitch Behm (acting), Transportation, May 15; and Steve Linick, State, May 15.[3] In four of the cases the announcement was made late on a Friday night in a classic Friday news dump.[citation needed] In several cases the fired IGs had taken an action which Trump disliked, so that the dismissals were widely described as retaliation.[4] In two other cases, questions were raised about whether the dismissals related to ongoing IG investigations into the conduct of the cabinet secretary in charge of that department.[5][6] The cumulative firings were often described as a "purge"[7] or as a "war on watchdogs".[8][9]

  1. ^ Quinn, Melissa (May 19, 2020). "The internal watchdogs Trump has fired or replaced". CBS News. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Bill (May 19, 2020). "Trump has pushed out 5 inspectors general since April. Here's who they are". PolitiFact. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Blake, Aaron (May 16, 2020). "Trump's slow-motion Friday night massacre of inspectors general". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Trump ramps up retaliatory purge with firing of State Department inspector general". The Washington Post. May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duncan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kimball was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Baker, Peter (May 19, 2020). "Trump Proceeds With Post-Impeachment Purge Amid Pandemic". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Goodwin, Liz (May 7, 2020). "Trump wages a war on watchdogs as coronavirus elevates their importance". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  9. ^ "Donald Trump's war on inspectors general". The Economist. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.