Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is warning that President Donald Trump’s purge of Inspectors General risks corruption and abuse in the Federal government.
Sen. Ossoff is pressing the Trump Administration to rescind the termination of 17 independent, non-partisan Inspectors General (IGs) who oversee Federal government agencies.
According to legal experts, these terminations likely violated the Inspector General Act of 2008 and the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022, which together require 30 days written notice to Congress detailing the reasons for removing or transferring an Inspector General.
“The work of Inspectors General is critical to ensuring effectiveness and efficiency across the federal government and to preventing and detecting fraud and abuse where it occurs,” Sen. Ossoff wrote to President Trump.
“Congress did not receive proper advance notice and a substantive, case-specific rationale for the recent Inspectors General terminations. The lack of notice and explanation has raised reasonable questions among Members of Congress and the public about the bases for these removals. It is for these reasons I ask you to rescind these terminations and provide the complete 30-day notice to Congress on each of these firings, as the law requires,” Sen. Ossoff concluded.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen independent oversight of Federal agencies and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
Last September, Sen. Ossoff introduced the Postmaster General Reform Act of 2024, which would make the position of Postmaster General subject to a Presidential appointment with confirmation required by the U.S. Senate, similar to other Administration positions.
Last July, following years of leadership in Congress, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan bill to ban stock trading by Members of Congress passed the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) with bipartisan support — the first-time a Congressional stock trading ban has ever passed a U.S. Senate Committee.
Last year, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act was signed into law, historic prison reform legislation to overhaul independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons nationwide by mandating routine inspections of all facilities by the DOJ Inspector General and investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff.
Sen. Ossoff led multiple bipartisan Senate investigations into corruption, abuse, and misconduct within the Federal prison system, uncovering a lack of oversight of the Federal prison system that led to long-term failures likely contributing to loss of life; jeopardizing the health and safety of incarcerated people and staff; and undermining public safety and civil rights.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s letter to President Trump.
# # #
