President Donald Trump’s Friday night firing of 17 inspectors general — including the top watchdogs for the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs — has left the future work of the offices uncertain and outside advocates fearing a lack of accountability at key government agencies in months to come.
Officials from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency have questioned the legality of the moves, given that Congress has mandated 30 days notice before the dismissal of any inspector general.
“IGs are not immune from removal,” council chairman Hannibal Ware said in a statement over the weekend. “However, the law must be followed to protect independent government oversight for America.”
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The group promised legal challenges to the moves. But in a CNN interview on Monday morning, Department of the Interior Inspector General Mark Greenblatt said all access to his office is being blocked.
“My email has been cut off and I don’t know what’s going to happen with my things,” he said. “I was there for five and a half years. And so, we’ll see.”
Trump defended the actions over the weekend, telling reporters flying with him on Air Force One Saturday that it was his prerogative to put new personnel in place to help enact administration priorities. He claimed the move was “a very common thing to do.”
Members of Congress disagreed. Several noted that VA Inspector General Mike Missal had served in the post since 2016, working as a watchdog for three different administrations. Under his leadership, the office released numerous reports critical of VA officials during Trump’s first administration and former President Joe Biden’s term in office.
“President Trump is gearing up to install an Inspector General at VA who will lack independence and will wield the authority of the position to retaliate against the president’s perceived political opponents, or to conceal any wrongdoing that may implicate Trump and his allies over the next four years,” House Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calf., said in a statement. “These actions will directly harm veterans.”
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed that sentiment.
“Purging the VA’s Inspector General puts veterans at risk of a surge in corruption and abuse of power,” he said in a statement. “The Inspector General is the most important internal watchdog that protects veterans from waste and wrongdoing. Firing him and eliminating his independent oversight is a betrayal of trust as well as violation of law.”
During former Rep. Doug Collins’ confirmation hearing last week to serve as the next VA Secretary, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, praised the Inspector General’s office as important to department operations.
“We work closely with the inspector general at VA,” he said. “I find him valuable both to me and to this committee, and he should be valuable to the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
A group of 21 Democratic lawmakers on Saturday wrote a letter demanding a reversal of the firings, saying the move is “antithetical to good government, undermines the proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and degrades the federal government’s ability to function effectively and efficiently.”
The Defense Department Inspector General’s Office was without a Senate-confirmed leader from 2016 to 2022, the entirety of Trump’s first term in office. That had been a point of contention among lawmakers who said office oversight was not as strong under acting officials, and lacked the independence mandated for the post.
Robert Storch was confirmed as the permanent defense inspector general in December 2022, and held the post until last week’s firings.
From April to October last year, Storch’s office released 68 oversight reports, which included 325 recommendations for improvement across the military services. They included examinations of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, efforts to boost U.S. military power in the Indo-Pacific region, and recommendations on acquisition improvement.
The VA Inspector General’s office released 180 reports and memos over that same period, and assisted in 137 arrests related to veterans benefits fraud and abuse. That work also resulted in more than 500 administrative actions against VA workers found to be abusing or misusing their posts.
Officials from both offices did not respond to requests about the impact the firings would have on current and future investigations. Trump did not say when replacements for the fired inspectors general would be announced.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
