U.S. President Donald Trump fired 17 independent overseers in multiple government agencies on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, eliminating a critical component of oversight and paving the way to replace them with loyalists.
The Inspectors General in agencies including the State, Defense, and Transportation Departments were notified by email from the White House Chief of Staff that they were dismissed immediately, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires the president to give both chambers of Congress the reasons for such firings 30 days in advance.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer, pointing to a potential violation of the law in his speeches on the Senate floor on Saturday, called the firings “a chilling purge” and a precursor to what he described as an “illegal approach” by the Trump administration.
