Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s firing of inspectors general of at least a dozen federal agencies:

“This midnight purge of inspector generals, including at the USDA, is alarming and unprecedented. While the president has the right to replace inspector generals, the late-night firing of these independent watchdogs not only violates the law but also hampers our ability to combat waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure programs are run as Congress intended, whether its disaster assistance for farmers or nutrition programs. These firings threaten to undermine public trust at a time when many hardworking Americans doubt whether government institutions are looking out for them and reinforce the perception that politicians get to play by a different set of rules.”

Background
Since its inception in 1962, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been charged with investigating and auditing department programs to combat waste, fraud, abuse and misuse of taxpayer dollars. The career of the most recent USDA Inspector General, Phyllis K. Fong, spanned five presidential administrations, Democratic and Republican, since being nominated for the role by President George W. Bush in 2002.