A federal judge refused on Wednesday to reinstate eight former inspectors general who filed a lawsuit after the Trump administration fired them with no warning and little explanation.
US District Judge Ana Reyes said that while President Donald Trump likely violated the federal law governing the process for removing the nonpartisan watchdogs from office, the firings didn’t cause enough irreparable harm to justify reinstating the watchdogs before the lawsuit is resolved.
The eight plaintiffs were among 17 inspectors general who were fired by Trump on January 24. Each received identical two-sentence emails from the White House that attributed their removal to unspecified “changing priorities.” The mass firings targeted all but two of the Cabinet agencies’ inspectors general.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys said the firings were unlawful because the administration didn’t give Congress the legally required 30-day notice or provide a “substantive, case-specific rationale” for removing them.
Government attorneys said the president can remove inspectors general “without any showing of cause” and doesn’t have to wait 30 days after providing notice to Congress.
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