On Friday night, Donald Trump fired 17 inspectors general.

• Inspectors general (IGs) are independent watchdogs whose job is to root out waste, fraud, and corruption in the agencies they oversee.

• Trump fired the person whose job is to prevent waste and fraud at the Department of Defense.

• And the person in charge of identifying misconduct at the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Labor, the Department of State, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and others.

• Project 2025 called for this wholesale dismissal of IGs — precisely to loosen oversight of misconduct and authoritarian overreach.

• With the absolutely certain effect of enabling corporate contractors to rip off the government more severely.

• And — in ironic contrast to what they claim they want to do with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency being run by Elon Musk — “fight fraud and increase government efficiency.”

But here’s the thing:

Trump’s firing of the IGs was illegal — the president must give Congress 30 days’ notice before firing Senate-confirmed IGs.

Even Senator Lindsey Graham has acknowledged Trump violated the law, and several Republican senators have, ever so gently, criticized Trump’s action.

Most importantly, the IGs are pushing back. They told the Trump White House the firings were illegal.

One week into their second term, Trump and his minions are spreading fear around the country.

But rather than submit to the fear, the IGs are standing up. And we have to have their back. Courage begets courage.

Tell Congress:

You must insist the law be followed. Stand up for the inspectors general — whose job is to prevent the waste and fraud you say you want to curtail — who Donald Trump fired illegally.

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