A watchdog who was yanked from his role by President Trump just before he was about to begin oversight on coronavirus spending resigned from the Pentagon.
Glenn Fine, the principal deputy inspector general of the Department of Defense, stepped down from his position in the Pentagon on Tuesday. In a statement announcing his resignation, Fine said it was time for someone else to take his place.
“The time has come for me to step down and allow others to perform this vital role,” he said. “It has been an honor to serve in the inspector general community, both as the inspector general of the Department of Justice and the DOD acting inspector general and principal deputy inspector general performing the duties of the DOD inspector general.”
“The role of inspectors general is a strength of our system of government. They provide independent oversight to help improve government operations in a transparent way,” he added. “They are a vital component of our system of checks and balances, and I am grateful to have been part of that system.”
Fine was working as acting inspector general for the Defense Department before Trump entered office. He was selected by a group of inspectors general to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus economic relief package known as the CARES Act.
The watchdog would have been the chairman of a new Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, but Trump fired him from his role as acting inspector general just before the committee convened. Because he was no longer an inspector general, he could not serve on the committee.
The president temporarily replaced Fine with an inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency. Fine is one of several inspectors general to be removed by Trump in recent months.
