
Storm Clouds Over Congress: House Democrats, critical of President Trump's firing of inspectors general, have called on the Republican chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee to convene a hearing on the matter/NPS file
A potential clash is rising in the House Natural Resources Committee, where Democrats on the panel are calling for the Republican chairman to schedule a hearing into President Trump's dismissal of inspectors general across the federal government, including the one within the Interior Department.
So far there has been no apparent pushback by the GOP against Trump's actions concerning the inspector generals, withholding government funding, blocking the National Park Service from hiring seasonal workers, or encouraging federal workers to resign.
On Monday, Rep. Jarden Huffman, (D-California) the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and Maxine Dexter, (D-Oregon) the ranking member on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Committee Chair Bruce Westerman requesting a hearing to "get to the bottom of Trump’s unprecedented and illegal late-night firing of inspectors general from various federal agencies, a move that was outlined in Trump’s Project 2025.
“Protecting the independence of the inspectors general has been a bipartisan priority since Congress created the positions. It is hard to imagine a more important time for the Natural Resources Committee to explore the impacts of the erosion of the inspectors general under the watchful eye of the American people in a hearing," the letter said. "I hope I can count on you to hold a hearing in the full committee exploring the implications of the firings for issues within our jurisdiction."
The lawmakers specifically requested the committee examine the terminations at the Interior Department, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Agriculture.
The members went on to highlight several instances where oversight from the DOI Office of Inspector General was essential during the first Trump administration, including when they issued multiple reports about the Secretaries of the Interior and other appointees. In some cases, the Department of Interior OIG found that allegations against political appointees lacked merit, effectively shielding them against smears. In other cases, allegations were confirmed.
During the first Trump administration Interior's inspector general determined that then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke ignored his ethical obligations by continuing to work on a private development in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, while serving as Interior secretary.
While the investigation also showed Zinke had his staff assist with the project and was not candid in answering questions about his involvement with Interior's Designated Agency Ethics Official, the OIG concluded that his actions did not rise to the level of violating federal conflict of interest laws.
During his short tenure as Interior secretary, Zinke was under several investigations for the way he ran Interior and how he might have mixed personal interests with his position. One of those investigations looked into whether the Interior Department blocked a casino deal in Connecticut, while another regarded conversations Zinke had with then-Halliburton Chairman David Lesar about a development project in Zinke's hometown of Whitefish. He also was investigated for his travel and for treating his wife as if she were a federal employee.
In their letter to Westerman, Huffman and Dexter wrote that, "[T]he purge of inspectors general sends a clear signal to their successors that their job would be at risk if they issued findings that might upset the President or his followers. It would undermine the very purpose of independent inspectors general which were created as a response to President Nixon’s historic Watergate scandal."