By Alliance Intern Joe Parmigiani from Dartmouth College ‘28
Across the federal government, President Trump has fired at least 17 Inspectors General (IGs) across 18 agencies, effectively destroying independent, nonpartisan oversight of all agency decisions.
You might wonder why should I care? IGs perform an essential role in stopping government abuse by Democrats and Republicans. They assure that laws passed by Congress are carried out with integrity.
IGs assure accountability by acting independently of politics and agency heads to investigate corruption, fraud and abuse and report to Congress. They also protect whistleblowers who come forward with information about misconduct within an agency. Without them, there are few guardrails to protect our democracy.
Trump’s firing of the IGs is a violation of our laws as they were passed by Congress. The Inspector General Act of 1978 provides that the President may remove an IG, but states, “If an Inspector General is removed from office…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.”
Because Trump failed to provide the 30-day notice and justification as required by law, it appears the action is illegal. Those fired should be reinstated immediately.
Trump even fired the Interior Department IG Mark Greenblatt, who he appointed five years ago. Greenblatt told the NY Times: “This raises an existential threat with respect to the primary independent oversight function in the federal government. We have preserved the independence of inspectors general by making them not swing with every change in political party.”
This really matters for sustainability. For example, the IG of the EPA has investigated and taken the agency to task for permitting harmful pesticide use and endocrine disrupting chemicals, while not protecting workers’ rights, as pointed out by Beyond Pesticides.
We need you to take action on a topic that may seem in the weeds, but is essential to sustainability and the proper functioning of our democracy. Please join the Alliance in sending Beyond Pesticides’ letter to put pressure on your members of Congress to address this unacceptable situation and assure nonpartisan oversight.