In April 2020, when Donald Trump was ostensibly focused on an intensifying and deadly pandemic, the then-president did something entirely unexpected late on a Friday night: He fired the inspector general for the intelligence community. A month later, again on a Friday night, the Republican also fired the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services. A couple of weeks later, he did the same thing to the State Department’s inspector general — late on a Friday night.
The New York Times reported that the White House appeared to be engaged in a “power play against semi-independent inspectors general across the government,” driven by the president’s “impatience with independent voices within the government that he considers disloyal.” The Washington Post’s David Ignatius similarly called out Trump for launching “a relentless campaign — waged even in the midst of the pandemic — against people and institutions that can hold him accountable.”
In the final year of his first term, the Republican ended up ousting four of these watchdog officials. As his second term gets underway, Trump is picking up where he left off. My MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim highlighted the president’s latest move against inspectors general — who were once again targeted late on a Friday night.
President Donald Trump fired multiple inspectors general late on Friday, removing the independent watchdogs tasked with investigating abuse and impropriety in federal agencies in a move that potentially violates federal law. … The exact number of inspectors general who were dismissed is unclear. NBC News reported that at least 12 were fired. The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the actions, reported the number as at least 14 across several agencies.
Right off the bat, the obvious problem with such a move is the apparent motivation: Inspectors general are responsible for investigating internal wrongdoing, possible ethical lapses, alleged corruption and fraud, and mismanagement. For Trump, who is no stranger to corruption accusations, to target these watchdogs raises all kinds of questions about the kind of actions the new administration hopes to get away with in the coming weeks, months and years.
Relatedly, one of the fired inspectors general told The Washington Post, “It’s a widespread massacre. Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.”
But perhaps most important of all is the apparent fact that the White House’s action is at odds with federal law. The New York Times report on the developments explained, “The firings defied a law that requires presidents to give Congress 30 days’ advance notice before removing any inspector general, along with reasons for the firing. Just two years ago, Congress strengthened that provision by requiring the notice to include a ‘substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for the removal.’”
It led Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer, to tell MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that Trump’s move was “a nakedly illegal action.”
Not surprisingly, congressional Democrats wasted little time in expressing outrage. Senate Minority Leader Schumer called it “a chilling purge,” and “a preview of the lawless approach Donald Trump and his administration is taking.” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said the move was “a brazen attempt to rig these offices to look the other way when violations of law take place.”
Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, labeled it Trump’s “midnight massacre.”
By way of a defense, the president told reporters that his move was “a very common thing to do.” This was, of course, the opposite of the truth: Since the existing law was created, there have been no such mass firings of inspectors general.
But just as important was the reaction from congressional Republicans.
Four years ago, when Trump targeted inspectors general, a variety of GOP officials pushed back. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa — by any fair measure, a leader for many years on protecting inspectors general — was especially incensed.
But in the aftermath of Trump’s Friday night firings, one GOP official after another lined up to express support or indifference. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” conceded that the firings appeared to be “technically” illegal, but the South Carolinian endorsed the move anyway.
Even Grassley said, “There may be good reason the IGs were fired,” though the Iowan said he’d like “further explanation.”
The president’s Friday night move was indefensible. The GOP reaction added insult to injury.
As for the near future, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, which represents inspectors general, issued a statement questioning the legality of Trump’s purge, suggesting some important court fights are on the horizon. Watch this space.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com