WASHINGTON: Among the federal agencies affected by Friday's ousters were the departments of defence, state, interior and energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Social Security Administration, The Washington Post said.
"It's a widespread massacre," said one of the fired inspectors general, according to the Post. "Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system." Most of those fired were appointed by President Trump during his first term, it added.
The New York Times, citing three unnamed people with knowledge of the dismissals, said 17 inspectors general were fired, and one source said the Justice Department's watchdog was not affected. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called the firings "a purge... in the middle of the night".
"Inspectors general are charged with rooting out govt waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct," she said in a post on social media platform X. "President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption."
On Tuesday, his first full day in power, Trump announced plans to weed out around 1,000 opponents from the US govt. The 78-year-old Republican began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling govt policies on immigration, citizenship, gender, diversity and climate - some of which are being challenged in the courts.
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