WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight government watchdogs have sued over their mass firing that removed oversight of President Donald Trump’s new administration.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington asks a judge to declare the firings unlawful and restore the inspectors general to their positions at the agencies.
They said in the filing that they play a critical, nonpartisan role overseeing trillions of dollars in federal spending and the conduct of millions of federal employees.
Congress was not given the legally required 30-day notices about the removals, something that even a top Republican decried.
Trump has said he would put new “good people” in the jobs.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The administration dismissed more than a dozen inspectors general in a Friday-night sweep on the fourth full day of Trump’s second term. Though inspectors general are presidential appointees, some serve presidents of both parties. All are expected to be nonpartisan.
At the time of the firings in late January, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said there may have been good reasons for the terminations but that Congress needed to know.
The role of the modern-day inspector general dates to post-Watergate Washington, when Congress installed offices inside agencies as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of power.
Democrats and watchdog groups said the firings raise alarms that Trump is making it easier to take advantage of the government.
Trump, said at the time the firings were “a very common thing to do.” The inspector generals’ lawsuit says that isn’t true.
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AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.