The Defense Department's inspector general who was appointed to oversee spending from the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus signed last week by President Donald Trump has been fired from his watchdog role at the Pentagon, according to a report by Politico.
Reports say Trump removed Glenn Fine from his role as the acting inspector general, meaning the career government official is now ineligible to serve on the stimulus oversight board charged with monitoring spending and preventing any mishandling of the public’s relief funds.
By law, only current inspectors general can serve on the audit panel.
Fine’s appointment as the chair of the stimulus committee last week was widely praised in Washington.
“Glenn Fine has a good reputation as a tough federal prosecutor and former [Department of Justice] Inspector General, and must exercise his full oversight authority to ensure that the Trump administration implements the CARES Act as intended,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York) said in a statement.
The oversight board was meant to protect the integrity of the bailout fund.
But when he signed the relief package into law late last month, Trump issued a statement that said he would not allow the special inspector general for the relief program to report to Congress without his supervision, according to a report by The Hill.
Last week, the president nominated one of his own White House lawyers, Brian Miller, for the special inspector general position, The Hill reported.
For now, Trump has appointed Sean O’Donnell, the inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, to serve as Fine’s replacement in addition to his other responsibilities, according to Politico.
Fine was informed of Trump’s decision Monday, and news of his firing began rippling through Capitol Hill by Tuesday morning.
“The president is sending in some of his loyalists. This is really a problem,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, according to report by The Huffington Post.
The ouster came only days after Trump’s controversial firing of Michael Atkinson, the inspector general at the Intelligence Department who was legally required to turn over the whistleblower complaint to Congress that ultimately led to Trump’s impeachment.
Over the weekend, Atkinson said he believed Trump fired him for simply doing his job.
“I am disappointed and saddened that President Trump has decided to remove me as the inspector general of the intelligence community because I did not have his ‘fullest confidence,’ ” Atkinson said in a seven-paragraph statement issued Sunday. “It is hard not to think that the president’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial inspector general.”
A day after removing Atkinson, Trump defended his decision at Saturday’s coronavirus news briefing, saying “I thought he did a terrible job. Absolutely terrible. That man is a disgrace to IGs.”
Inspectors general are traditionally removed for “cause,” which typically would entail misconduct, The Washington Post reported.
Trump has nominated Jason Abend to be the permanent inspector general at the Defense Department, according to Department of Defense spokeswoman Dwrena Allen.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, demanded more information on Atkinson’s removal. Inspectors general “often serve as an outlet to whistleblowers” who “shine a light” on problems in government, he said. “They help drain the swamp, so any removal demands an explanation.”
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