President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025.

What does President Donald Trump have planned that he doesn’t want any independent watchdogs around to catch?

That’s the obvious question brought forward by Mr. Trump’s purge of 17 inspectors general from throughout the federal government, along with three of the military’s top lawyers. Not without some irony, some of these very firings appear to have broken the law already.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

But all we’re seeing from Mr. Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress is a collective shrug.

"Just tell them, ‘You need to follow the law next time’": That was the lackadaisical view of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Within days of taking office, Mr. Trump axed inspectors general — whose job it is to conduct audits, prevent fraud and promote efficiency within their respective agencies — in Defense, State, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Energy and Transportation, Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Those firings........

© Times Union