(Reuters) – US President Donald Trump's administration fired more than a dozen independent inspectors of government agencies on Friday, US media reported.
The agency includes the departments of defense, government, transportation, veterans affairs, housing and urban development, interior and energy, the Washington Post said, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
I New York Times (NYSE:) said the purge affected 17 agencies but spared Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz.
The Post said the firing “appears to be a violation of federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days' notice of any intent to fire inspectors general.”
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports.
The inspector general is an independent position that audits, investigates and investigates allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. They can be removed by the president or the head of the agency, depending on who appointed them or who appointed them.
Most of those fired were hired in Trump's first term of 2017-2021, the Post reported, saying that those affected were informed by emails from the White House chief of staff that they would be terminated immediately.