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Senate Democrats Criticize Firing of USAID Inspector General
Two Senate Democrats have expressed strong disapproval of President Trump’s decision to dismiss the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), urging the administration to reinstate him along with other watchdogs who were recently let go.
Senators Gary Peters from Michigan and Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire contend that the termination of USAID Inspector General Paul Martin, along with other officials in late January, was unlawful. They specifically highlight the failure to provide the required 30-day notice to Congress before such actions were taken.
“This apparent retaliatory firing is not only illegal under federal law, but it also undermines the administration’s stated goal of addressing government waste, fraud, and abuse. Inspectors General are mandated by law to perform oversight functions that enhance government efficiency and help reclaim billions in taxpayer funds,” the senators stated in a letter directed to the White House and the General Services Administration (GSA), which was made available to The Hill.
Martin’s dismissal occurred on a Tuesday evening, with no official explanation provided for the decision. Notably, this action was taken just a day after his office released a report that criticized the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid initiatives.
This report pointed out that the State Department’s suspension of foreign assistance programs, combined with a reduction in USAID personnel, posed serious risks to the management and distribution of approximately $8.2 billion in humanitarian assistance that had already been allocated but not yet disbursed.
The inspector general’s office remarked in the report that “the existing oversight controls at USAID, while previously noted as having deficiencies, are now mostly ineffective due to recent directives and staffing changes.”
Furthermore, the report indicated that extensive staff cuts across USAID, notably within the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), alongside uncertainty surrounding foreign assistance waivers, have severely compromised the agency’s capacity to effectively manage and secure taxpayer-funded humanitarian aid.
Federal law requires the president to notify Congress 30 days in advance of any intention to dismiss or transfer an inspector general, along with an explanation for the action. Neither the requisite notification nor any justification was provided concerning Martin’s removal, as claimed by Senators Shaheen and Peters.
“It is evident that the firing of the USAID Inspector General was a retaliatory measure resulting from his commitment to his responsibilities—specifically, his role in issuing a warning on national security implications and highlighting potential waste from the administration’s recent operational directives and staffing changes,” they highlighted in their letter.
Inspectors general play a critical role in conducting audits and inquiries into fraud, waste, and abuse within the agencies they oversee. Their work is ongoing and spans multiple presidential administrations.
In the past three weeks, the Trump administration has reportedly dismissed at least 17 inspectors general from various departments, including those from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the State Department.
Additionally, the senators noted that staff members of the USAID inspector general had been denied access to their offices by the GSA just hours before Martin’s termination.
“Inspector General Martin, along with all other inspectors general who were unlawfully dismissed, should be reinstated without delay, and the authorized staff of the Office of Inspector General must be allowed to access their workspace to continue their essential oversight activities,” Peters and Shaheen concluded.
The Hill has sought comments from both the White House and the GSA regarding this issue.
Source
thehill.com