USDA inspector general forced from office after rejecting firing by Trump administration

The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Phyllis Fong, was escorted out of her office this week after refusing to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, according to Reuters.

Sources told the outlet that Fong intended to stay after the White House terminated her, saying she believed the administration did not follow proper protocols.

Fong sent an email to her colleagues saying the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency “has taken the position that these terminations notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time,” according to Reuters.

Some members of Congress have suggested firing 17 independent inspectors general violated federal oversight laws.

The Washington Post, which first reported the firings, said many were appointees from President Donald Trump’s first term.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called Trump’s actions “a purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.”

“Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct,” Warren posted on X. “President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”

Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One after the firings were reported and defended the move saying, “it’s a very common thing to do.”

Fong was sworn in as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2002 and was nominated by President George W. Bush.

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