Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to condemn President Trump’s chilling and potentially unlawful decision to immediately terminate many of the federal government’s nonpartisan independent watchdogs. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
Last Friday, while most Americans were asleep, President Trump conducted a midnight massacre of many of the federal government’s nonpartisan independent watchdogs.
The president did not notify Congress of his decision, as is required by law. The president did not offer any substantive explanation of these firings, as required by law.
Instead, the president simply said these positions were “terminated, effective immediately.”
This is a chilling, potentially unlawful decision by the president. It’s a reminder that if there’s anything President Trump fears most, it’s accountability. He likes to talk about one thing, then another, then doesn't like to be held accountable.
When people stand up to President Trump, when people present him with facts and evidence that he doesn’t like, his solution is to fire them and replace them with loyalists. I fear that this is what will happen here.
Purging the government of its independent watchdogs begs an obvious question—what is the president trying to hide? What does the president not want the American people to see?
Does the president want to avoid accountability for impoundment of congressionally approved funding? Does he want to hold up foreign aid as blackmail without getting caught? Does he want to eliminate scrutiny of improper government contracts? An independent inspector general could prevent many of these abuses.
An inspector general’s job can be boiled down to two words: transparency and accountability. That is what President Trump is apparently afraid of, but it's something most Americans want to have in their government.
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