GOP's Grassley says Trump's reasoning for IG dismissal 'not sufficient' as Democrats investigate

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

last updated 17 May 2020

President Trump's decision to fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday came on the advice of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a White House official said Saturday.

The move immediately drew sharp criticism from Democrats who consider the ouster a retaliatory act; Linick was reportedly looking into Pompeo's alleged misuse of a department appointee to perform personal tasks for him and his wife, and it comes on the heels of several other federal watchdog dismissals in recent months.

It wasn't only Democrats who seemed unsatisfied with Trump's decision, though. While the president said he no longer had confidence in Linick, an Obama appointee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), co-chair of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus, said Saturday that Congress is entitled to a more thorough explanation, noting that inspectors general are "crucial in correcting government failures and promoting the accountability that the American people deserve." He said Trump's reasoning, as it stands, "simply is not sufficient."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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