1. Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson: President Trump wrote to Congress on April 3 he no longer had confidence in Atkinson, who helped facilitate the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment. Republicans had criticized changes in the whistleblower policies by Atkinson that permitted secondhand information to be used to launch an investigation.
2. Department of Defense acting Inspector General Glenn Fine, who was to chair the panel overseeing coronavirus federal spending: No official explanation provided by Trump for the April 7 firing. Trump said, “I don’t think I ever met Fine,” and suggested he was cleaning out Obama-era holdovers, citing “reports of bias.”
3. Health and Human Services acting Inspector General Christi Grimm: Trump replaced Grimm on May 1 with assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Weida after Grimm released a report in late March that found “severe shortages of testing supplies” and “widespread shortages of personal protective equipment” among other problems experienced by medical workers battling the coronavirus. Trump later tweeted that Grimm was an Obama-era holdover who never contacted coronavirus task force members before conducting the report.
4. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick: The Trump administration fired Steve Linick on Friday. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump said he no longer had full confidence in Linick. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had advised Trump to fire Linick. House Democrats had called on Linick 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.
5. Department of Transportation acting Inspector General Mitch Behm: The Trump administration on Sunday installed Howard “Skip” Elliot as the new acting inspector general, replacing Behm, who will remain in his prior job as deputy inspector general.
Trump’s IG shuffle has largely attracted Democratic criticism, but his firing of Linick has raised bipartisan alarm in Congress. Pelosi wrote to Trump Monday, giving him a 30-day deadline to explain why Linick was fired.
Republicans want more information, too.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, wrote to Trump Monday, asking him to provide further justification for firing Linick by June 1. Grassley also demanded Trump respond to a Friday request for more details about his decision to fire Atkinson.
“As mentioned in previous letters, Congress’s intent is clear that an expression of lost confidence, without further explanation, is not sufficient … This is in large part because Congress intended that inspectors general only be removed when there is clear evidence of unfitness, wrongdoing, or failure to perform the duties of the office,” Grassley wrote to Trump.
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, harshly criticized Trump for the string of IG removals, as did Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.
Collins is a co-author of the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires a president to provide reasons for an IG’s removal.
“The President has not provided the kind of justification for the removal of IG Linick required by this law,” Collins said Saturday.
Late Monday, the Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch told the Washington Examiner in a statement he has been in contact with the Trump administration about Linick’s firing.
“The role of an inspector general is important throughout our government and is meant to work independently to root out waste, fraud, and abuse at every level, all with total detachment from politics,” Risch said. “When Congress created that position, this official was designated to serve at the discretion of the president as part of his control of the executive branch. It is the president’s prerogative and within his authority to make decisions regarding the adequacy of performance and continued employment of the inspector general. I have been in contact with the administration over this matter and expect to continue to learn more.”
