知情人士告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，在周五深夜的一次行动中，唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统在多个联邦机构解雇了至少17名独立监察人员，即总检察长。
关于驱逐这些政府监管者的谈话始于特朗普的过渡时期回到白宫。
虽然监察长可以被总统解雇——但这只能在提前30天与国会沟通后发生，而且在2022年，国会加强了法律，要求行政部门为解雇监察长提供详细的理由。
目前还没有一个完整的名单，所有的IG的影响，但至少有一个高调的监督机构-司法部IG迈克尔·霍罗威兹-没有收到通知，他被解雇，截至昨晚。
霍洛维茨是奥巴马任命的，曾发表过批评特朗普和拜登政府的报告。
现行法律还要求任何代理IG必须来自IG社区内部，尽管尚不清楚特朗普白宫是否认为他们需要遵守法律的这一方面。
据了解解雇情况的消息人士称，监察长在周五晚上收到了白宫总统人事办公室主任塞尔吉奥·戈尔的电子邮件，对此他们感到措手不及。
“我写信通知你，由于优先事项的变化，你的职位...被终止，立即生效，”美国广播公司新闻审查的电子邮件。
消息人士称，许多政府间官员在他们的机构会见了特朗普过渡官员，并与即将上任的政府进行了富有成效的对话。
爱荷华州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利周六表示，国会没有得到所需的30天通知。
一个周六晚上，在从拉斯维加斯飞往迈阿密的途中，特朗普在空军飞机上与记者交谈时，将解雇归为“常见的事情”。
“嗯，我这样做是因为这是一件很常见的事情——并不是所有人都这样做。就像霍洛维茨一样，我们保持着。”
他继续说，“这是一件非常标准的事情，非常像美国检察官。”
“IGs被解雇可能有充分的理由。我们需要知道如果是这样。我希望特朗普总统进一步解释，”格拉斯利在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说。"不管怎样，法律要求的30天详细的搬迁通知并没有提供给国会."
格拉斯利本周早些时候告诉ABC新闻，总统必须在免职前告诉国会。
“首先要提醒的是，我们的监察长在总统之前不能被免职，那是任何一位总统，不仅仅是特朗普。因此，这是给所有这些总统的一个信息，你必须提前一个月告诉国会罢免他们的原因，”格拉斯利说。
他补充说，“另一件事是，监察长应该独立于政治压力，独立于该机构的负责人，并确保法律得到执行，资金得到适当使用，不应该有任何政治压力反对他的任何工作。”
在周五给白宫的一封信中，小企业管理局监察长兼廉政和效率监察长委员会主席迈克·威尔(Mike Ware)表示，通过电子邮件解雇独立监察机构“在法律上不足以解雇总统任命的参议院确认的监察长。”
ABC新闻获得的这封信继续解释了督察员普通法2022年修正案中规定的免职程序。
韦尔写道:“增加了提供实质性理由的要求，包括详细和具体的理由，以更好地使国会能够参与和回应对监察长的拟议免职，以保护监察长的独立性。”
在周六上午的发言中，民主党领导人查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)抨击了特朗普政府的这一举动，称这些解雇可能违反了联邦法律。
舒默说:“这些解雇是唐纳德·特朗普告诉我们他害怕问责，并且敌视事实和透明度的方式。”
共和党参议员乔尼·恩斯特发起了一场两党搞笑会议就在十天前。
康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔(Richard Blumenthal)是新成立的小组的成员，他告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，他将期待他在该小组的共和党同事采取某种行动。
“我们有一个支持监察长的两党团体，我认为这是对他们是否愿意放任腐败和浪费不受控制的考验，”他说。
共和党参议员的反应不一。
当被要求置评时，得克萨斯州参议员约翰·科宁听从了格拉斯利的意见。
“我认为我们只是一步一步来，并试图理解其中的原理，”他说。
肯塔基州共和党参议员兰德·保罗说，他认为许多检察长确实需要更换，特朗普最终有权力这样做。但是他指出，可能需要遵循一个过程。
缅因州参议员苏珊·科林斯在2022年帮助通过了一项立法，该立法加强了要求政府为解雇IG提供详细理由的法律，她说她对特朗普的举动感到沮丧。
“我不明白为什么要解雇那些以根除浪费、欺诈和滥用职权为使命的人，”柯林斯说。“所以这在我所知道的特朗普总统的优先事项中留下了一个缺口，所以我不理解。”
然而，一些坚定支持特朗普的共和党参议员对解雇表示赞赏。
阿拉巴马州参议员汤米·特伯维尔。当被问及特朗普解雇监察长的举动时，他表示“完全支持”。
“我们需要打扫房子。我的意思是，如果他们不能让这个国家继续前进，”他说。
然而，弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员马克·华纳(Mark Warner)表示，解雇IG是“对法治缺乏尊重的又一个例子”
“他似乎在试图给我们政府剩下的任何独立性扔一把活动扳手，”华纳谈到特朗普时说。“监察长的整个想法是进行独立检查。未来谁会接手这些工作?”
周六晚些时候，众议院委员会的民主党高层致信特朗普，强烈谴责解雇几名监察长。
“你们的行为违反了法律，攻击了我们的民主，破坏了美国人民的安全，”该组织写道。
他们补充说:“没有正当理由解雇监察长与良好的政府背道而驰，破坏了对纳税人资金的适当管理，降低了联邦政府有效和高效运作的能力。”
Trump fires 17 independent watchdogs at multiple agencies in late-night move
In a late-night Friday move, President Donald Trump fired at least 17 independent watchdogs -- known as inspectors general -- at multiple federal agencies, sources familiar with the move told ABC News.
The conversations about ousting these government watchdogsbegan during Trump's transitionback to the White House.
While inspectors general can be fired by the president — it can only happen after communicating with Congress 30 days in advance and in 2022 Congress strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG.
There isn't yet have a complete list of all the IG's impacted, but at least one high-profile watchdog — Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz — did not receive notice that he was fired as of yesterday evening.
Horowitz is an Obama appointee and has issued reports that have been critical of both the Trump and Biden administrations.
The current law also mandates that any acting IG's must come from within the IG community, though it's unclear whether the Trump White House believes they need to follow that aspect of the law.
The inspectors general were blindsided by emails they received Friday night from Sergio Gor, the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, according to a source with knowledge of the firings.
"I am writing to inform you that due to changing priorities your position ... is terminated, effective immediately," read the emails reviewed by ABC News.
Many of the IGs had met with Trump transition officials at their agencies and had productive conversations with the incoming administration, the source said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Saturday that Congress was not given the required 30-day notice.
While talking to reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday evening on his way from Las Vegas to Miami, Trump classified the firings as a "common thing to do."
"Well, I did it because it's a very common thing to do – not all of them. Like Horowitz, we're keeping."
He continued, "It's a very standard thing to do, very much like the U.S. attorneys."
"There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I'd like further explanation from President Trump," Grassley said in a statement given to ABC News. "Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress."
Grassley told ABC News earlier this week that the president must tell Congress before removal.
"First of all to remind that our Inspector General can't be removed from office until the president, and that's any president, not just Trump. So this is a message to all these presidents you've got to tell Congress a month ahead of time the reasons for removing them," Grassley said.
He added, "And the other thing is that inspector generals are expected to be independent of political pressure, independent of the head of the agency, and to make sure that the law is enforced and money spent appropriately, and there shouldn't be any political pressure against any of his work."
In a letter to the White House Friday, Mike Ware, the Small Business Administration inspector general and chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, said the firing of the independent watchdogs over email is not "legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate confirmed Inspectors General."
The letter, obtained by ABC News, goes on to explain the removal process codified in the 2022 amendments to the inspectors general law.
"The requirement to provide the substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons, was added to better enable Congress to engage on and respond to a proposed removal of an Inspector General in order to protect the independence of Inspectors General," Ware wrote.
In floor remarks Saturday morning, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ripped into the Trump administration for the move, saying that the dismissals are a possible violation of federal law.
"These firings are Donald Trump's way of telling us he is terrified of accountability and is hostile to facts and to transparency," Schumer said.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst launched abipartisan IG caucusjust ten days ago.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the newly-minted group, told ABC News he'll be looking to his Republican colleagues on that panel to take some sort of action.
"We have a group, and it is bipartisan, that is supportive of inspectors general, and I think it is a real test of whether they are willing to let loose an unchecked surge of corruption and waste," he said.
Reaction among Republican senators was mixed.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn deferred to Grassley when asked for comment.
"I think we just take it one step at a time and try to understand what the rationale was," he said.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said he believes many of the inspectors general do need to be replaced and that Trump ultimately has the power to do so. But he noted there may be a process that needs to be followed.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who helped to pass the legislation in 2022 that strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG, said she was frustrated by Trump's move.
"I don't understand why one would fire individuals whose mission is to root out waste, fraud and abuse," Collins said. "So this leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump, so I don't understand it."
Some Republican senators who have been staunch supporters of Trump, however, praised the firings.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he's "all for it" when asked about Trump's move to dismiss the inspectors general.
"We need to clean house. I mean, if they're not for this country to move on down the road," he said.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., however, said the firing of the IG's was "one more example of the lack of respect for the rule of law."
"He seems to be trying to throw a monkey wrench into the kind of any independence left in our government," Warner said of Trump. "The whole idea of inspector generals is to have that independent check. Who is going to take those jobs going forward?"
Later Saturday, the ranking Democrats on the House committees sent a letter to Trump strongly condemning the firing of several inspectors general.
"Your actions violate the law, attack our democracy, and undermine the safety of the American people," the group wrote.
"Firing inspectors general without due cause is antithetical to good government, undermines the proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and degrades the federal government's ability to function effectively and efficiently," they added.
