{"id":2396390,"date":"2025-01-29T07:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T12:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-fired-republican-and-democratic-inspectors-general\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T07:16:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T12:16:54","slug":"trump-fired-republican-and-democratic-inspectors-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-fired-republican-and-democratic-inspectors-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump fired Republican and Democratic inspectors general"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-fired-republican-and-democratic-inspectors-general%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2396390&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the recent dismissal of at least six inspectors general by \u2063President Donald Trump, highlighting their history of financial \u200bsupport\u200d for Democratic\u200d political committees. In a significant move\u2063 described as a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-fires-17-inspectors-general-overnight-reports-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump fires 17 inspectors general overnight: Reports - Washington Examiner\">late-night purge<\/a>,&#8221; Trump terminated\u2062 18 out of \u2062the 73 federal inspectors general, whose role\u200d is to oversee government agency accountability. Names\u2062 mentioned include Loren Sciurba, who donated to former Vice President Kamala Harris, \u2063and Christi Grimm, \u2064among others, who \u200ccontributed \u200dto various Democratic campaigns. <\/p>\n<p>Some dismissed inspectors were also known for their critical stance \u2063toward the \u200dBiden governance. the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leaked-document-showing-how-bidens-team-prepares-him-for-events-sparks-controversy\/\" title=\"Leaked Document Showing How Biden&#039;s Team Prepares Him for Events Sparks Controversy\">article \u200braises concerns<\/a> that Trump&#8217;s actions could lead\u200b to\u2063 a cycle of politicization\u200c regarding \u200cthese positions, as\u200d noted by Mark Greenblatt, a former inspector general appointee, who warned\u2063 that it may incentivize future Democratic presidents to retaliate \u2064similarly. <\/p>\n<p>While some inspectors general with GOP ties\u2063 were also let go, Trump&#8217;s approach appears \u200cselective, as he \u200cretained certain officials like Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, who\u200d has previously been favorable toward Trump.\u200c The legality of these dismissals is debated, with some fired inspectors challenging the validity \u2063of their terminations.the article \u2063sheds light on\u200c the political dynamics\u200d affecting oversight roles\u2062 within the federal government.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democratic donors among inspectors general dismissed by Trump<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1957950\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>At least six of the inspectors general recently dismissed by President Donald Trump had a history of donating to Democratic political committees, a <em>Washington Examiner <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1oVWAfBRn9XKmysqltMtlNi9ip_8C05l_JkaNifjStVQ\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">analysis<\/a> has found.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a move the <em>New York Times <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/24\/us\/politics\/trump-fires-inspectors-general.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">described<\/a> as a &ldquo;late-night purge,&rdquo; Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/trump-firing-inspectors-general-undermine-government-accountability-rcna189459\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">fired <\/a>at least 18 of the 73 federal inspectors general, the officials responsible for reporting on waste and abuse at their respective agencies, on Friday. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/25\/donald-trump-inspectors-general-firing-00200611\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told <\/a>reporters Saturday night aboard Air Force One that he was not planning to install loyalists to the now vacant inspector general positions, assuring the press that &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll put people in there that will be very good.&rdquo;&nbsp;Many of the officials he dismissed have a history of financially supporting the president&rsquo;s political opponents.<\/p>\n<p>Loren Sciurba, who served as the inspector general at the Treasury Department, for instance, gave roughly $2,300 to former Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic campaigns during the 2024 election cycle. The FEC has records of Sciurba donating to Democrats as far back as 2014, though the vast majority of his roughly $3,000 in lifetime contributions came during the most recent election cycle.<\/p>\n<p><em>ProPublica <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eenews.net\/articles\/leaked-project-2025-video-urged-ig-firings-to-avoid-witch-hunts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">obtained<\/a> a video from the Heritage Foundation&rsquo;s Project 2025 political appointee training module in which conservative opposition researcher Tom Jones advised that the incoming administration clear out <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">ideologically motivated inspectors general<\/a> to avoid &ldquo;witch hunts&rdquo; and select new officials who will &ldquo;ensure that waste, fraud, and abuse is rooted out.&rdquo; The president publicly distanced himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holds up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him in the desk as he signs executive orders Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Other ousted inspectors general with a history of Democratic donations included Christi Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Storch of the Defense Department, Michael Missal of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Krista Boyd of the Office of Personnel Management, and John Sopko, who served as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-blasted-by-terrorism-foreign-policy-experts-over-afghanistan-decision-such-an-avoidable-shame\/\" title=\"Biden Blasted By Terrorism, Foreign Policy Experts Over Afghanistan Decision: \u2018Such An Avoidable Shame\u2019\">special inspector general<\/a> for Afghanistan reconstruction.<\/p>\n<p>Sopko has donated thousands to Democratic political committees over his lifetime, Boyd made multiple contributions to Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s 2016 presidential campaign, while Missal and Storch were both donors to former President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n<p>Storch, despite donating $1,500 to Obama and the Democratic National Committee, was sharply critical of former President Joe Biden&rsquo;s withdrawal from Afghanistan. In <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2023\/Jul\/31\/2003271668\/-1\/-1\/1\/STORCH-HCOA-041923.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">remarks<\/a> given to the House Oversight Committee, Storch said the American-supported Afghani army was not &ldquo;self-sufficient and resilient&rdquo; prior to the U.S. withdrawal in early 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General found that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces &ldquo;became overreliant on U.S. and coalition forces to execute essential functions, such as training, logistics, maintenance, and support,&rdquo; Storch said. &ldquo;Senior U.S. leaders acknowledged that the ANDSF remained overly dependent on U.S. and international support. Additionally, corruption within Afghan security institutions was a contributing factor in the collapse of the Afghan government, according to DoD officials.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sopko also displayed a willingness to release information damaging to the Biden administration during his tenure at the Office of the SIGAR, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignaffairs.house.gov\/press-release\/chairman-mccaul-issues-statement-on-sigar-finding-u-s-dollars-funneled-to-taliban\/#:~:text=Unsurprisingly%2C%20SIGAR%20has%20found%20that,funding%20to%20benefit%20the%20Taliban.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reporting<\/a> in 2024 that taxpayer-funded aid had fallen into the hands of the Taliban.<\/p>\n<p>A few of the inspectors general dismissed by Trump had a history of donating to Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Greenblatt, whom Trump previously appointed to serve as inspector general for the Interior Department and was part of the most recent round of firings, meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/27\/us\/politics\/trump-inspectors-general-fired.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">warned <\/a>in an interview with the <em>New York Times <\/em>that the president risks setting off &ldquo;a never-ending cycle of politicization&rdquo; by incentivizing future Democratic presidents to fire his appointees.<\/p>\n<p>Greenblatt, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mark-lee-greenblatt-9650737\/details\/experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">worked<\/a> as a Senate Republican staffer in the 2000s, donated $850 to Republican political campaigns between 2006 and 2007, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani&rsquo;s presidential bid, according to FEC records.<\/p>\n<p>Inspectors general Eric Soskin of the Transportation Department and Sean O&rsquo;Donnell of the Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, also previously donated to Republicans. While O&rsquo;Donnell&rsquo;s only contributions were to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whom Trump publicly dislikes, Soskin gave roughly $100 to Trump&rsquo;s 2020 presidential campaign. Soskin also gave over $1,000 to Romney&rsquo;s 2012 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>There is some evidence that Trump may have retained inspectors general that he feels will give him favorable coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, survived Trump&rsquo;s wave of Friday night firings. The president previously praised his work.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Michael Horowitz, we&rsquo;re keeping,&rdquo; Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2025\/01\/24\/trump-fire-inspectors-general-federal-agencies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> Saturday. &ldquo;I thought his report on [former FBI Director James] Comey was incredible, actually. Such an accurate, well-done report.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The president was referencing a report produced by Horowitz that was critical of Comey&rsquo;s investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign. Horowitz has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3166423\/inspector-general-criticizes-fbi-suspending-whistleblower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">criticized<\/a> the FBI for forcing an agent to go on unpaid leave for years after he questioned how the agency was handling the investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The impact of Trump&rsquo;s inspector general firings remains up in the air as some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trump-fires-least-12-independent-inspectors-general-washington-post-reports-2025-01-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">argue<\/a> the dismissals were illegal. State Department Inspector General Cardell Richardson, who was among those fired, even told his staff to show up for work in defiance of the president.<\/p>\n<p>The White House did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&rsquo;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1957950\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1957950\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump dismissed inspectors general, many of whom donated to Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2396391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Donald-Trump-photo.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[4009,6363,49202,3911,3634],"class_list":["post-2396390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-democratic","tag-fired","tag-inspectors-general","tag-republican","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Donald-Trump-photo.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2396390"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2396394,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396390\/revisions\/2396394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2396391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2396390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2396390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2396390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}