E&C Democrats Demand Committee Hearing on Trump’s IG Purge; Republicans are Complicit with their Silence
“By scheduling a hearing next week with the Offices of Inspector General for both the DOE and EPA without first investigating the illegal purges of the actual Inspector Generals, Republicans show that they are more interested in playing politics than protecting taxpayer dollars.”
Top Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats wrote to full Committee Republican Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Gary Palmer (R-AL) today demanding a hearing on President Trump’s sweeping purge of Inspectors General (IG) throughout the federal government.
To date, the Trump Administration has removed at least 19 IGs from their posts, including those from the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction: the Inspectors General from the Departments of Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services, and Commerce (HHS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Purging government watchdogs without notice to Congress is a violation of the law – and an alarming attack on the transparency and accountability of federal agencies.
The letter was sent by full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Doris Matsui (D-CA), Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL), Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Paul Tonko (D-NY), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).
“Committee Republicans are engaging in a tremendous amount of lip-service about the need to ensure spending accountability through audits and oversight when they have been silent about the fact that the very individuals tasked with doing that work were illegally removed from office,” the seven Committee leaders wrote in their letter to Guthrie and Palmer.
“House Republicans have also been silent about Elon Musk and his minions instituting layoffs and funding freezes government-wide without any regard for whether the chaos they are creating is actually addressing waste, fraud, and abuse,” the Democratic Committee leaders continued. “By scheduling a hearing next week with the Offices of Inspector General for both the DOE and EPA without first investigating the illegal purges of the actual Inspector Generals, Republicans show that they are more interested in playing politics than protecting taxpayer dollars.”
The Democratic Committee leaders went on to underscore how Chair Guthrie himself has recognized that IGs play critical roles in our government by providing independent and objective oversight of our federal agencies. They are empowered by law to identify any waste, fraud, or abuse, ensuring through their audits, investigations, and inspections that Americans’ tax dollars are spent in accordance with the law. To that end, the Democratic Members highlighted that in Fiscal Year 2023 alone, the work of Inspectors General saved the government an estimated $100 billion.
“Our Members deserve an opportunity to question why the Trump Administration has attempted to eliminate these Inspectors General and whether and to what extent internal agency oversight will continue in this Administration,” they concluded. “Political interference in the proper functioning of federal agency oversight cannot be tolerated.”
The full letter is available HERE.
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