Eight former inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit to get their positions back. In the complaint, the inspectors general claimed that their "unlawful and unjustified purported termination" constituted interference with their "non-partisan oversight duties."
While President Trump has the authority to remove inspectors general, he did not give Congress the mandatory 30-day minimum notice ahead of removing those who launched the complaint. The eight former inspectors general say that the president also failed to provide a "substantive, case-specific rationale" for their removal.
The complaint, which details the backgrounds of the former inspectors general, insists that "until and unless" President Trump "lawfully removes" the plaintiffs from their positions, they remain "duly appointed" inspectors general.
President Trump removed inspectors general in his first term and gave Congress the required 30 days' notice, which the complaint acknowledges.
INSPECTOR GENERAL DISMISSED BY TRUMP CALLS MASS FIRINGS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
The inspectors general dismissed by President Trump served in several departments, including the Defense Department, the State Department, the Energy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
According to the complaint, each of the inspectors general were notified of their termination in what it classifies as "substantively identical" emails. The notices allegedly stated that they were terminated "effective immediately" due to "changing priorities."
The firings, which occurred last month, were met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. In a letter to President Trump signed by several Democrats and one Republican, lawmakers expressed "grave concern" over the firings, saying they were done "unlawfully and arbitrarily."
"Your actions violate the law, attack our democracy, and undermine the safety of the American people," the letter reads.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., a key player in the president's party, called on Trump to provide a "lawfully-required substantive rationale" for the firings.
Grassley, who serves as the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Il., the committee's Ranking Member, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reveal the reasons behind the firings so Congress and the public could be sure that the action was taken due to "real concerns."
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP'S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL
Shortly after his firing, Mike Ware, who served as the chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, called the firings a "threat to democracy." Ware is one of the former inspectors general who filed the complaint.
"We're looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in government. This is no doubt. The statute isn't just a technicality, it's a key protection of IG independence is what it is," Ware told MSNBC's "Ana Cabrera Reports" back in January.
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the mass firings last month, saying the Trump administration would "win in court" when asked if the actions would survive a legal challenge. President Trump said the firings were "a very common" and "a very standard" practice, which the former inspectors general deny in their complaint.
