Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not offer any criticism of President Trump’s moves to remove several inspectors general, including four in the past three months.
“He is certainly within his authority,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters Tuesday after meeting with GOP lawmakers and President Trump at the Capitol.
Trump over the weekend removed two inspectors general, including State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. Trump told Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Friday letter he no longer had full confidence in Linick. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had advised Trump to fire Linick, who House Democrats had called on to open an investigation into Pompeo’s efforts to secure an arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Linick was also investigating reports Pompeo used his staff to conduct personal chores.
Trump has so far removed five inspectors general, some of them Obama-era appointees serving in an acting capacity.
Democrats have ordered Trump to provide further justification for the removal of Linick, while Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told Trump that he too wants a more detailed reason for the removal of both Linick and Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, whom Trump removed on April 3. Atkinson helped elevate the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment.
McConnell appeared less interested in finding out more about the inspector general removals.
“He gets to hire and fire under the Constitution, all people in the executive branch, “ McConnell said. “And that’s a good question to address to the administration.”
He would not say specifically whether Republicans privately asked Trump about the firings at the closed-door lunch. He said the discussion focused mainly on the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak.
