Trump Has Already Ousted The Top Coronavirus Response Watchdog

[riversedge]

04/07/2020 12:55 pm ET Updated 35 minutes ago

Trump Has Already Ousted The Top Coronavirus Response Watchdog
The acting Pentagon inspector general was set to lead oversight of the government’s $2 trillion response.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-coronavirus-corruption-glenn-fine_n_5e8caac7c5b6e1a2e0fabbf5

Glenn Fine, a former Justice Department inspector general who was serving as acting inspector general at the Pentagon, was set to lead oversight of the government’s coronavirus response. Trump made that impossible on Tuesday morning.



President Donald Trump removed the inspector general set to probe corruption and provide oversight of the government’s massive response to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, the latest sign of his disdain for any oversight of his administration.

The $2 trillion coronavirus response law, passed last month, set up a panel of 10 inspectors general to serve as watchdogs as the government tries to limit fraud, wrongdoing and mismanagement. That panel, dubbed the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, selected Fine — who was the acting Pentagon inspector general and is a former Justice Department inspector general — to lead them.

But on Tuesday, Trump removed Fine from his job as acting Pentagon inspector general, making him no longer eligible to lead the panel under the law. Trump named Sean O’Donnell, the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency, to fill the acting role at the Pentagon as well.

The move, which was sharply condemned by congressional Democrats, illustrates how Trump is bucking against any government oversight of his administration’s response to the pandemic, which has come under fire for its delays and disorganization. Nearly 11,000 Americans have died as a result of the pandemic, and economists believe the unemployment rate is likely to hit double digits.........................................

[chicoescuela]

1. And we should be surprised?

The EPA guy surely is a loyal Trumper.

[Laelth]

2. k&r for visibility. n/t

-Laelth