McConnell Defends Trump’s Decision to Remove State Department Inspector General

President Donald Trump is receiving a fresh round of scrutiny after he revealed that he planned to remove State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) shrugged off concerns about the move. He told reporters on Tuesday, “He is certainly within his authority.”

“He gets to hire and fire under the Constitution, all people in the executive branch,” he added.

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McConnell dodged a question about whether Trump discussed his decision to remove Linick during a luncheon with Republican senators on Tuesday afternoon.

“We talked about a whole variety of different things … but the main thing we focused on was the pandemic and the way forward for the country,” McConnell said when asked if senators spoke to Trump the move.

On Friday, Trump told Congressional leaders that he had decided to remove Linick. In a letter, Trump said, “It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General. That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General.”

However, Congressional Democrats — who raised concerns that the move was “part of a purge to remove legitimate watchdogs and replace them with loyalists” — launched an investigation into the matter.

“We unalterably oppose the politically-motivated firing of inspectors general and the President’s gutting of these critical positions,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a statement announcing the probe.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the move “unsavory” and suggested that it could be “retaliation for something that the IG, the inspector general, is doing,” which she said would be illegal. 

While McConnell publicly showed little concern in Linick’s removal, the fourth inspector general to be removed in six weeks, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has requested more information about the move.