Firing inspectors general begins Trump’s assault on the rule of law
After sundown Friday, a new crack appeared in the wall of America’s rule of law. A wall that protected us for two and a half centuries, but that’s showing signs of strain. It is axiomatic that corrupt governments eliminate those responsible for policing corruption. The Friday night massacre of over a dozen inspectors general across the executive branch lays the groundwork for taking over that government from within. The job of an agency or department’s Inspector General is to independently root out corruption, fraud, and abuse in the executive branch and report on such to the legislative branch. They are embedded within these agencies to accomplish this task.
This is a modern adaptation to achieving the checks and balances the Framers of our Constitution intended when they created the federal government. But if the designated watchers aren’t watching, because they’ve been purged by the very abuse of power they were installed to prevent, then the way is open for more abuse and corruption to flow. Absent independent institutional whistleblowers, a significant check on power is now missing.
Twice stymied in his first term from asserting unfettered control over the federal government (first, by his own political appointees and career civil servants who refused to bend to his will, second, switching from internal to external forces, by using a mob to foment the January 6, 2021, insurrection – which failed), President Donald Trump clearly has resolved not to be so stymied in his second term. This time, his accomplices include, with the exception of Marco Rubio, an array of loyalists unqualified to hold their cabinet positions from outside government who are committed (1) to him, and (2) to disrupting and then dismantling any dissent within their realms of power. Those within these agencies who might protest these moves, DEI officers, or block them, inspectors general, are eliminated. Within five days of his presidency, Trump’s Project 2025 has hit the ground running. All of which was telegraphed to Americans well beforehand during the general election. [Continue reading…]