Trump Fires 5 Inspectors General in 6 Weeks to Block Investigations

confirmed Importance 8/10 ~1 min read 3 sources 6 actors

Regulatory Capture Legislative Capture Intelligence Penetration Executive Power Expansion

President Trump fired five inspectors general in six weeks during spring 2020, each investigating potential administration wrongdoing. The purge included State Department IG Steve Linick (investigating Pompeo’s use of staff for personal errands and Saudi arms sales), Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson (who forwarded the Ukraine whistleblower complaint), Defense IG Glenn Fine (set to oversee $2 trillion COVID relief), Transportation IG Mitch Behm, and HHS IG Christi Grimm (who reported hospital PPE shortages). The firings violated the law requiring 30-day Congressional notice with substantive rationale. Senator Romney called it ‘a threat to accountable democracy,’ while government watchdogs warned it created a chilling effect on oversight.

Sources & Citations

[1] Trump removes inspector general who was to oversee $2 trillion stimulus spending · Apr 7, 2020 Tier 1

[2] Trump Has Fired 5 Inspectors General. Here Are the Reasons He Gave · May 16, 2020 Tier 1

[3] Firing of inspectors general · Jan 1, 2024 Tier 2

Tiers Tier 1 court records & gov docs · Tier 2 established outlets · Tier 3 regional & specialty press · Tier 4 opinion or single-source. Methodology →

Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “Trump Fires 5 Inspectors General in 6 Weeks to Block Investigations.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, May 15, 2020. https://capturecascade.org/event/2020-05-15--trump-fires-5-inspectors-general-in-6-weeks-to-blo/