(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A group of inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump want American taxpayers to keep funding their salaries—seemingly until they say otherwise.
Like clockwork, eight of the 18 ousted bureaucrats have asked a federal judge in liberal-friendly Washington, D.C. to reinstate them, claiming Trump broke the law by terminating their taxpayer-funded employment.
The IGs argue, without evidence, that Trump was required to notify Congress before removing them, insisting they are shielded from what they described as political interference and retribution. If the head of the executive branch lacks authority over them, it is unclear who does.
The IGs suing for reinstatement include Hannibal Ware (Small Business Administration), Phyllis Fong (Department of Agriculture), Robert Storch (Defense Department), Michael Missal (Veterans Affairs), Christi Grimm (Health and Human Services), Cardell Richardson (State Department), Sandra Bruce (Education Department), and Larry Turner (Department of Labor).
Trump dismissed them within days of taking office, allegedly sending termination notices via emails titled “White House Notification,” according to liberal outlet CNN.
Their access to government computers and offices was swiftly revoked as part of Trump’s efforts to reform the federal government in his second term.
The IGs disagreed, with their attorneys writing that their “purported removals were legal nullities, and so they remain the duly appointed IGs of their respective agencies, unless and until the President lawfully removes them in compliance.”
According to their lawsuit, the Trump administration’s “actions have inflicted substantial damage on the critical oversight ethos of transparency, truth-telling without fear or favor, and respect for the rule of law.”
The lawsuit added, “Plaintiffs’ integrity has been baselessly maligned publicly, with the abrupt and unlawful nature of their purported removals incorrectly implying that plaintiffs have done something wrong when in fact they have each done nothing but uphold the values of their positions and the IG community.”
