Firings of Inspectors General Are Illegal and Invalid

Rule of Law Facts & Resources

Congress and the Courts Should Insist on Compliance with Federal Law

The New York City Bar Association (the “City Bar”) strongly condemns the actions by President Donald Trump to dismiss as many as eighteen U.S. Inspectors General as a clear violation of federal law.^[1] No reasons were provided for the dismissals, other than the “changing priorities” of the new administration.^[2] The Inspector General Act was designed to prevent corruption and assure that government agencies comply with the laws under which they operate. Independent Inspectors General (“IGs”) are a necessary check on potential waste, fraud and abuse, and they play an important role in safeguarding integrity, efficiency and effectiveness within the executive branch. They are critical in helping Congress perform its oversight role in our federal system of checks and balances.^[3]

In 1978, Congress enacted the Inspector General Act to create a uniform set of IGs across a broad spectrum of Executive Branch departments and agencies. In 2008, Congress passed the Inspector General Reform Act^[4] to strengthen the independence of IGs by providing, among other things, that “If an Inspector General is removed from office or is transferred^[5] the President shall communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.” In 2016, Congress again acted to strengthen the authority of IGs in the IG Empowerment Act.^[6] In 2022, in response to the President’s improper removal in 2020 of IGs Michael Atkinson and Glenn Fine, Congress acted to protect IGs from politically motivated removal by making clear that any removal or transfer of an IG required both prior 30-day notice to Congress and a specific statement of the reasons for that action.^[7] As a result, if the President wishes to remove or transfer an IG, 5 U.S.C. § 403(b) of the IG Act now provides that the President “shall communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress (including the appropriate congressional committees), not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.”^[8]

Again, while the Inspector General Act gives the President authority to dismiss IGs, Congress later passed the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 and the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 which respectively added the requirements that the President advise Congress of the “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons,”^[9] for any such dismissal and to do so at least 30 days before any dismissal becomes effective.^[10] On January 28, 2025, Senator Grassley, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the President requesting the “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for each of the removed IGs.^[11] Because the President failed to comply with either the 30-day notice requirement or to provide any case-specific reasons for his action, the announced IG dismissals violate the Act and should not be deemed effective by Congress or a reviewing court.

The President’s dismissal of independent IGs across a broad spectrum of the federal government is not a small or “technical” failure by the Administration but a clear violation of a federal law. It may be within the President’s power and prerogative to remove or transfer Inspectors General in accordance with the law. However, this action not only contravenes the Inspector General Act but also the Presidential Oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States” and the President’s Constitutional obligation to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”^[12]

This action should not be tolerated by Congress, the courts or the public.

About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has 23,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org