NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday declined to reinstate eight inspectors general despite finding U.S. President Donald Trump unlawfully fired them by failing to notify Congress and justify their removals.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington found that Trump violated a Watergate-era federal law when dismissing the agency watchdogs without providing Congress with a required 30-day notice and rationale for the terminations. The inspectors general also advanced “compelling arguments” that they should be reinstated, the judge said.
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But Reyes ruled that the inspectors general had not suffered the necessary irreparable harm requiring they be reinstated. She also noted that even if she did reinstate them, Trump could still lawfully remove them after 30 days by providing required notice and rationale to Congress.
The inspectors general, who policed waste, fraud and abuse at agencies including the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, Education, Agriculture and Health and Human Services, demonstrated “exceptional service as IGs, marked by decades of distinguished leadership across multiple administrations,” the judge said in her 20-page decision. “They deserved better from their government. They still do.”
The judge began her decision by recounting the Watergate burglary that led to then-President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Congress passed the Inspector General Act in 1978, creating independent government watchdogs inside federal agencies.
She then described details of the work performed by each of the suing inspectors general.
“President Trump violated the IGA,” Reyes said, referring to the Watergate-era law. “That much is obvious.”
The current case stems from Trump’s firing of at least 17 inspectors general soon after starting his second White House stint. Eight of them sued Trump and cabinet officials in February, alleging their removals were illegal and seeking reinstatement. They are also seeking back pay.
Reyes stayed the case pending the outcome of a Supreme Court case regarding Trump’s removal of a Federal Trade Commission leader, which she said could have bearing on the inspectors general litigation.
Reporting by Mike Spector Editing by Bill Berkrot
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Mike Spector is an Investigative Reporter for Reuters’ legal team. He strives to pursue special reports and other enterprising and exclusive stories that expose wrongdoing, highlight threats to consumers and illuminate how ordinary people are affected by the decisions of judges and lawyers across the United States. His stories often involve corporate crises linked to bankruptcy proceedings, mass tort litigation and government investigations. He was the first journalist to expose Johnson and Johnson’s plan to offload into bankruptcy lawsuits alleging its iconic Baby Powder and other cosmetic talc products caused cancer. A series he led explaining how companies and nonprofits use the bankruptcy system to evade lawsuits over sexual abuse and deadly products received the Deadline Club’s Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting. He has also investigated pervasive secrecy in American courts that covers up evidence of deadly products and allegations from Black women that chemical hair relaxers sold by large cosmetics companies caused cancer. He previously worked at The Wall Street Journal covering bankruptcy, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and the automotive industry.
