GOP senators beg Trump to stop obstructing oversight of coronavirus stimulus

On Tuesday, Politico reported that some Senate Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to stop his attacks on the inspector general oversight of the coronavirus stimulus program.

"Two months after acquitting Trump on charges of obstructing Congress, GOP senators are sounding subtle but unmistakable alarms about Trump’s efforts to brush back lawmakers’ oversight of the government’s behemoth, $3 trillion response to the coronavirus pandemic," reported Andrew Desidiero. "And their warnings have grown more urgent as Trump mounts a concerted campaign against inspectors general, one of the last functional checks on his administration’s performance."

"The public disapproval come as Trump faces criticism over his abrupt removal of the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson, and his refusal to provide Congress with an adequate explanation, as required by law," continued the report. "And without responses from the White House, GOP senators have stepped up their public rebukes of the president as they try to convince him that independent government watchdogs are his friend, not his enemy."

Senators leading the charge include Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Rob Portman (R-OH), and James Lankford (R-OK).

“We need to empower inspectors general to be able to do their work — especially when you’re dealing with trillions of dollars, you’ve got to have good, reasonable oversight over those things,” wrote Lankford in a recent letter to the president.

Grassley in particular has prided himself for decades on supporting oversight of the executive branch. However, the report noted, "he has yet to threaten to issue subpoenas or place holds on Trump’s prized nominations in order to secure the information he is seeking. It’s unclear how Grassley would proceed if his demands continue to go unanswered and unfulfilled."