The inspectors general of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, along with six other federal agency watchdogs dismissed by President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration, have initiated a legal action against the president and his administration in an attempt to secure their reinstatement, as detailed in a court filing submitted on Wednesday.
The inspectors general assert that President Trump did not provide Congress with the requisite notification at least 30 days prior to their dismissals and failed to present a “substantive, case-specific rationale” for the terminations, which is mandated by federal law according to the filing.
Furthermore, the lawsuit contends that the president’s actions have “inflicted substantial damage on the critical oversight ethos of transparency” and that the reputations of the inspectors general have been “baselessly maligned” in public discourse, suggesting unjustly that they have engaged in misconduct.
