White House fires 17 inspectors general in violation of federal oversight law

Trump fired 17 inspectors general at 10:47 PM on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Two-sentence emails wiped out independent oversight at Defense, State, HUD, Veterans Affairs, Energy, and Transportation. Congress got no 30-day notice required by federal law. The Friday night purge was coordinated and likely illegal.

NPR documented over 100 enemies targeted for systematic government retaliation in the first 100 days. Arrests, investigations, firings, punitive executive orders. Journalists, former officials, corporate executives, academic researchers - anyone who criticized Trump policies got hit. This is political vengeance using federal agencies as weapons.

Twenty-two state attorneys general filed federal lawsuits after the administration cut $4 billion annually in NIH research through indirect cost caps and terminated over $1 billion in existing grants. GAO found an $8 billion shortfall in new awards between Feb. and Jul.. Harvard lost $2.8 billion total across frozen and terminated grants and contracts for refusing political demands.

The Department of Government Efficiency set a $1-per-transaction limit on government credit cards through executive order on Feb. 26, 2025. Federal agencies cannot buy office supplies, repair equipment, or maintain basic services. Over 50,000 purchases are stuck in the backlog. Routine government functions have essentially stopped.

Attorney General Pam Bondi created a 'Weaponization Working Group' inside Justice on her first day and fired at least three career prosecutors working Jan. 6 cases. She sent intimidation letters to more career staff and reassigned prosecutors investigating Trump allies. Decades of institutional knowledge and expertise - gone.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick personally approves nearly every department contract over $100,000. Over 200 NOAA contracts are backed up. Weather forecasting faces delays that could affect hurricane warnings and climate monitoring. His review bottleneck paralyzed essential services across the Commerce Department.

Nine major law firms made deals to avoid executive order retaliation. They agreed to end DEI programs and perform pro bono work for the administration. Paul Weiss pledged $40 million in legal services after Trump threatened to blacklist them. Legal representation of Trump critics now carries economic consequences for law firms.