President Donald Trump has privately mused about replacing meddlesome government watchdogs with slavishly loyal partisans.
Trump removed two inspectors general in four days and attacked a third on Twitter, and he reportedly has discussed replacing those government oversight officials with someone like Tom Fitton, a right-wing legal activist who frequently appears on Fox News to defend the president, reported The Daily Beast.
The president privately quipped that things would be much better for him if those watchdogs were replaced by someone with the integrity of Fitton, who leads the hyperconservative Judicial Watch organization.
Fitton frequently appears on Fox News programs the president likes to watch, where the legal activist rages against disloyal "Deep State" conspirators, and Trump often retweets his content online.
Trump on Tuesday removed acting Pentagon inspector general Glenn Fine, who was to serve as chairman of the federal panel Congress created to oversee his administration’s management of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, and he also pushed out Michael Atkinson last week as the inspector general of the intelligence community.
Fine will be replaced by Sean O’Donnell, currently inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, who will serve in both roles until a permanent replacement is confirmed.
Trump nominated Jason Abend, senior policy adviser at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to serve as permanent inspector general at the Defense Department.
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