On Friday night, President Donald Trump made the decision to dismiss the inspectors general of more than a dozen federal agencies, according to a senior official from his administration. This move paved the way for the president to appoint new supervisors to these independent oversight roles.

In recent years, Congress has taken steps to strengthen protections for inspectors general following situations like this. In 2022, a law was passed requiring the White House to provide substantial justification before dismissing any inspector general, aiming to ensure greater transparency in these processes.

Trump’s decision raised concerns among some lawmakers, including Republican senators. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pointed out that Congress did not receive the 30-day notice required by federal law before the dismissals took place.

Other senators also shared their concerns about the lack of notification and the broad scope of the dismissals. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska remarked:

“What I do understand is that it’s something relatively unprecedented, as there was no notice at all,” Murkowski said. “I can understand why a new president coming into power would want to critically examine the Inspectors General and the role they have played within the various agencies, but… the summary removal of all of them, I believe, has raised concerns.”

Similarly, Senator Susan Collins expressed that the dismissals seemed to contradict the president stated objectives of fighting corruption:

“I don’t understand why someone would dismiss individuals whose mission is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. So this leaves a void in what I know is a priority for President Trump,” Collins stated.

Meanwhile, Senator Mike Rounds indicated that he preferred to obtain more information before drawing any definitive conclusions about the situation. He remarked:

“Honestly, at this point, I’d only be guessing what this really entails. So I’ll wait and find out what this means in terms of others stepping in. Are there agents stepping in? Was it about specific individuals? I simply don’t have that information,” Rounds concluded.