Newsletter: (Another) Friday Night Massacre

American Oversight is investigating the lead-up to Trump’s late-night firings of more than a dozen federal watchdogs to discover what — if any — attempt was made to comply with the law.

Inquiriespress@americanoversight.org

President Trump has continued to move to radically reshape the federal government — spuriously scapegoating diversity hiring, offering buyouts to federal workers, ousting DOJ employees who investigated him, and threatening to fire top FBI officials — and turn it into a bureaucracy of loyalists. And he’s taking direct aim at the institutions and people meant to hold him accountable.

His late-night, end-of-the-week firings of 17 independent inspectors general is a clear example. Inspectors general — nonpartisan officials charged with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuses of office at their respective agencies — have long been a target of a president openly disdainful of oversight.

The firings were not only a clear signal of Trump’s intent to evade the systems meant to keep his administration in check — they were also illegal.

Under the Inspector General Act of 1978, Congress must receive 30 days’ notice before an inspector general is dismissed. The law was amended in 2022 to, among other things, require substantive explanation, including case-specific reasons.
Trump’s norm-breaking firings raise concerns that he could replace the independent watchdogs with loyalists and further undermine government transparency and oversight.
The political independence of inspectors general — and thus their ability to act in the interest of the public, and not the president or agency heads — is crucial for their ability to safeguard government programs that affect millions of Americans.

We immediately filed FOIA requests to several agencies for related communications, including with the Trump transition team, the White House, or Congress.

Requests went to the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, HHS, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and Social Security Administration.
“By abruptly firing over a dozen independent watchdogs without the required notice to Congress, President Trump has brazenly violated federal law and attacked the very systems leading to accountability in the federal government,” our deputy executive director Liz Hempowicz said. “We plan to uncover the facts so the public and lawmakers can hold the administration responsible for these abuses of power.”

Opposing Pam Bondi’s and Kash Patel’s Nominations

We joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and more than 90 civil rights organizations this week in opposing Trump’s nomination of Pam Bondi to be U.S. attorney general. Bondi’s history of unflinching loyalty to Trump and her problematic civil rights record prove she is unfit to fairly and independently lead the Justice Department.

Bondi promoted Trump’s stolen election lies after the 2020 election and served as a personal lawyer for Trump during his first impeachment trial. In 2013, as Florida attorney general, Bondi declined to investigate allegations of fraud against the for-profit Trump University after Trump’s family foundation sent a check for $25,000 to a political action committee she was associated with.
During her tenure in Florida, Bondi advocated to repeal the Affordable Care Act, supported restrictions on abortion, and fought against certain LGBTQ+ rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Trump routinely sought to use the Justice Department for his own political benefit during his first term, and just within his first week and a half back in the Oval Office he has already demonstrated his intent to manipulate and abuse the department during his second term.

The U.S. attorney general is accountable to the American people — not the president — and must be committed to ensuring the department enforces laws fairly for all.

Bondi’s nomination — as well as the nomination of Kash Patel, another avowed loyalist, to lead the FBI — represent a grave threat to the rule of law and the independence of the Justice Department.

We’ve been investigating Patel, who had his confirmation hearing on Thursday, since the first Trump administration, when he held positions at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon.
“Kash Patel’s nomination is powerful evidence that President Trump values personal fealty over qualifications and commitment to the rule of law,” said our interim executive director, Chioma Chukwu. “Any official who publishes a list of ‘enemies’ has no business heading the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice.”

On the Records

New Florida AG’s Secrecy

As the Orlando Sentinel highlighted this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ newly appointed state attorney general, James Uthmeier, is at the center of legal battles over public records, including one lawsuit brought by the Florida Center for Government Accountability.

Our lawsuit against the governor’s office for his pattern or practice of failing to properly respond to public records requests in violation of state law seeks a range of documents, including the calendars of Uthmeier, who served as DeSantis’ chief of staff.
On Monday, we’ll present oral arguments in the case addressing DeSantis’ motion to dismiss our lawsuit, and our own motion to force his office to provide discovery. This week, a judge rejected DeSantis’ motion to dismiss one of our four claims.

Uthmeier’s name is a familiar one for those who followed our investigation of the governor’s controversial migrant relocation efforts.

In 2022, we obtained documents related to the flights that transported undocumented immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.
The records contain text messages of the officials and contractors who arranged the political stunt; mentions in the text messages of someone named “James” are potentially references to Uthmeier.

Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ Far-Right Education Connections

After Trump removed restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting raids in schools, this week Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters proposed new rules that would require the state’s public schools to track students’ legal immigration status.

Records obtained by American Oversight and recently reported on by the New York Times Magazine reveal close ties between the Oklahoma State Education Department (OSDE) under Walters and far-right education groups including Moms for Liberty, PragerU, and Parents Defending Education.
The records, such as a document circulated by Walters’ staff titled “Putting God Back in the Classroom,” shed light on his efforts to inject white Christian nationalism into public education.
In September 2023, Walters claimed in testimony before a U.S. House committee that Chinese influence was impacting Oklahoma schools. Records we obtained show that Parents Defending Education sent Walters research and records about Chinese politics and influence, and had met with OSDE about “foreign influence in public schools,” in the weeks leading up to his testimony.
The records also show that Walters was in frequent contact with officials at the Heritage Foundation, including Lindsey Burke, the lead author of Project 2025’s chapter on education.

Newsletter: (Another) Friday Night Massacre

On the Records

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