'That's still the law': Senate Republican schools Trump as public feud escalates

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) took to X on Friday to scold President Donald Trump for overstepping his authority to fire agency watchdogs without taking the proper disclosure steps.

"Pres Trump takes an oath to uphold the constitution & the laws but he hasnt told Congress he was firing the Ex-Im Inspector General," wrote Grassley, presumably referring to the watchdog overseeing the Export-Import Bank. "The law says POTUS has to specifically inform Congress abt IG firings and unless the courts say otherwise thats still the law."

Grassley, one of the oldest Republicans in the Senate, has historically taken a hard line in Congress about protecting agency watchdogs and whistleblowers within government.

At the start of President Donald Trump's term, he controversially carried out a mass firing of over a dozen inspectors general across various agencies throughout the executive branch, ignoring the 30-day notice requirement for Congress. In September, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that these firings were illegal — but declined to reinstate them, pointing out that Trump would simply provide Congress the required notice and fire them all again anyway.

This is not the only issue on which Grassley has clashed with the president since his return to office.

In particular, Trump has escalated mounting attacks on Grassley for his ongoing deference to the "blue slip" tradition, which requires nominees of the president to have the consent of their home state senators to advance to a vote — and has stymied Trump's more partisan nominations for federal prosecutors in several Democratic states.

Trump has called the rule "old and ridiculous" and demanded it end, often attacking Grassley by name over the issue. Grassley, for his part, has stood his ground, saying he won't be manipulated by "personal insults."