WASHINGTON, DC - Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is questioning the White House's move to fire a government watchdog.
President Trump informed Congress late Friday of the removal of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, saying he "no longer" had full confidence in Linick.
Grassley said over the weekend that Congress requires written reasons justifying an Instector General's removal, and that "a general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress.”
Grassley co-chair's of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus and has been an outspoken proponent of the whistleblower function to call out wrongdoing in government.
He said inspectors general are "crucial in correcting government failures and promoting the accountability that the American people deserve."
Some lawmakers have said they were told Linick's firing was called for by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Democratic House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel of New York said he learned Linick "had opened an investigation into Pompeo.“
Engel and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who is the ranking member the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, announced Saturday that they would launch a probe into the removal.