Who Trump has already fired
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What actions is Trump taking to change the federal government?
But first, President Trump is moving quickly to change the federal government, sidelining hundreds of government workers and paving the way to potentially fire hundreds of thousands more. In a rapid series of moves in his first week in office, Trump is requiring federal employees to return to the office five days a week. He's shuttered diversity, equality and inclusion programs and environmental justice programs and cleared the way for people who work in those programs to be fired. And he temporarily blocked health officials from communicating with the public. A spokesperson from the Office of Personnel Management called these steps exciting and said they are in the interest of making the government more effective and efficient. Then, late on Friday night, Trump fired 18 inspectors general. These are the independent government watchdogs that work in federal agencies to investigate allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse.
When asked why, a White House official told NBC they were cleaning house and lining under the new Trump administration. By law, the president is required to give Congress 30 days notice and a good reason for firing inspectors general. Some Republicans have acknowledged that Trump broke the law with this move, but still defend it. Here's Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on NBC's Meet the Press.
What are the implications of firing inspectors general?
You know, I'm not overly worried about that. It's not the first time people have come in and put their team in place. When you win an election, you need people in your administration that reflect your views. So I'm not really worried about that.
Later on the program, California Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat, pushed back.
The American people, if we don't have good and independent inspector generals, are going to see the swamp refill. They're going to see rampant waste fraud. They're going to see corruption.
This isn't the first time a president has come in and shaken up inspector general positions. In 1981, Ronald Reagan fired 16 inspectors general shortly after his inauguration and ended up rehiring several of them after Congress objected. Beyond those moves, the Trump administration also sent home 160 National Security Council aides, reassigned about 20 senior career attorneys at the Justice Department, and fired the heads of the U.S. Coast Guard and TSA. It's not uncommon for a president to quickly get to work, to hire and fire. But many observers have pointed out that the breadth and speed of the changes to the federal government imposed by Trump in his first week in office were a remarkable test of the limits of presidential power. Speaking to PBS News, The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart commented on the nature of some of these early moves.
He told us exactly how these first few days were going to go. So that is not what's surprising. What is surprising to me is just sort of the level of meanness in some parts, smallness in other parts, but also aggressiveness in other ways.
Reuters reports on the range of responses to Trump's actions. His supporters have cheered it on. Others are shocked and scared, particularly those federal employees who don't know what's coming next. Mark Lee Greenblatt, who was fired from his position as the Interior Department's inspector general, told NBC he's concerned about Trump politicizing inspector general positions. He said, quote, we are the so-called watchdogs inside the federal agency. So does he appoint true watchdogs or does he appoint lapdogs? Another big headline from Trump's first week in office, immigration raids. Several hundred people have been arrested per day nationwide starting last Tuesday. Over the weekend, raids were carried out in major cities, like in Atlanta, where the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports ICE authorities pulled a person out of church to arrest them, and in Denver, where officials say dozens of undocumented people with ties to drug trafficking and Venezuelan gangs were taken into custody.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What actions is Trump taking to change the federal government?
0:34–1:51
2
What are the implications of firing inspectors general?
1:51–4:40
3
How is the Trump administration handling immigration raids?
4:40–6:16
4
What concerns do governors have about immigration policies?
6:16–8:20
5
How is public opinion reacting to Trump's changes?
8:20–10:34
6
What are the fears surrounding ICE operations in sensitive areas?
10:34–11:41
7
How do immigration raids affect communities in Chicago?
11:41–14:28
Speakers
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