Inspectors General Reject Their Termination

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The same day Donald Trump fired 17 independent Inspectors General without legally required notice, the head of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency responded in writing, rejecting the termination notice on behalf of all the targeted IGs.

A day and a half later, online searches still could not find any mention of this response in USA mainstream media. It was covered in overseas media.

The memo from Hannibal “Mike” Ware, Chair of the Council, to Sergio Gor, Head of the Presidential Personnel Office, said:

I am writing in response to your email sent to me and other Inspectors General earlier this evening wherein you informed each of us that “due to changing priorities, your position as Inspector General . . . is terminated, effective immediately.”

As Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), I recommend that you reach out to White House Counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General.

Specifically, based upon the 2022 amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978, the President must notify Congress 30 days prior to removal of an IG and provide “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for such removal. 5 U.S.C. § 403(b), as amended by the section 5202(a) of the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 (Title LII, Subtitle A, of P.L. 117-263, 136 Stat. 2395, 3222). The requirement to provide the substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons, was added to better enable Congress to engage on and respond to a proposed removal of an Inspector General in order to protect the independence of Inspectors General.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Hannibal.Ware@sba.gov.

Federal law requires Congress to be given 30 days notice before termination of an Inspector General so that Congress can determine whether dismissal is warranted.

Click here to read the memo from Ware to Gor.