Trump administration cites ‘changing priorities’ in emails that fired inspectors general
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(WASHINGTON) — The email ousting at least one top federal watchdog from their post was so short, it could fit in a tweet.
The two-sentence long letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General Christi Grimm cited “changing priorities” under the President Donald Trump’s new administration, according to a copy of the note obtained by ABC News.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that due to changing priorities your position as Inspector General… is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email read.
The email addressed the inspector general by her first name — “Dear Christi” — with no customary courtesy title, such as “the Honorable,” or even “Ms.”
The same email template was used for the other inspector general firings, sources said.
Late Friday night, Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general at multiple federal agencies.
While inspectors general can be fired by the president, it can only happen after communicating with Congress 30 days in advance. In 2022, Congress strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG.
Trump classified the firings as a “common thing to do” as he talked to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way from Las Vegas to Miami Saturday evening.
“It’s a very standard thing to do, very much like the U.S. attorneys,” Trump said.
The email to Grimm came in at 7:48 p.m. Friday night, and the way the wave of terminations was done surprised many across the inspector general community, even though there had been signs that a firing event like this could happen — as ABC News reported last week.
Among recommendations in the Project 2025 conservative blueprint for a second Trump term was replacing inspectors general under the new administration. As recently as last week, Mick Mulvaney, who was one of Trump’s chiefs of staff in his first term, wrote in an op-ed specifically that “a good place for Trump to start” cleaning out the “Deep State” would be with firing inspectors general.
Still, the HHS Office of Inspector General — and inspectors generals’ offices in most every government agency — had prepared a transition book for the incoming administration laying out what the independent agency does, and to identify areas of focus to make the departments and their programs healthier, more efficient and more effective, according to multiple sources.
On a call Saturday afternoon among the inspector general community, not only was there note-comparing about who got fired, what their email said, and what happens now — there was also discussion of encouraging those acting inspectors general who are remaining to stay independent and not shy away from difficult facts or unflattering findings, according to a source familiar with the call.
There’s a concern among the inspector general community now, given the language about “changing priorities” in the firing emails, that the new administration is cleaning house in order to install personnel aligned with Trump’s political leanings, rather than those who champion the agencies’ guiding mission of independence and oversight, multiple sources said.
(WASHINGTON) — Amid mounting frustration from centrist voters and shifting party coalitions, one group thinks it has the solution to making parties and political candidates: comprehensive election reform.
Unite America, a philanthropic venture fund, is in the middle of a yearslong effort to support ballot initiatives that would fundamentally alter the way candidates are elected. Rather than hold party primaries, some of which independent voters can’t partake in, states would hold one large primary for all candidates for a race. Then, general election voters would be able to sift through winners in some form, including a ranked choice system or a competition between the top two vote getters.
In an interview with ABC News, Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano said the system is intended to make the general election the race of consequence rather than low-turnout primaries in safe red or blue areas, making candidates accountable to voters of all stripes.
“If you’re a candidate, the advantage is you’re no longer only having to appeal to one side. You can talk to all the voters, and then all the voters can vote for whomever they want,” Troiano said.
“It’s really about trying to make the general election the election of consequence, meaning the primary, everybody can vote, everybody can run, but it winnows down to just a few candidates in a general election, when most people vote, should really be when the decision is made.”
The reform movement is ramping up at a time of transformation for both parties. Democrats, smarting from Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss, are looking to make a brand more palatable to working-class voters. And Republicans are expected to be tied even closer to President-elect Donald Trump after his win this month.
But the election reform efforts are coming off a rough election cycle.
Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota shot down ballot initiatives that would have instituted all-party primaries rather than contests grouping candidates of one party together. The effort marked a setback given rising conversations around other democracy-related issues like gerrymandering.
Troiano conceded the defeats, noting spending from both parties against the ballot initiatives and insisting that progress is not anticipated to be “linear.” Unite America’s advisors include those who worked on the marriage equality movement, which saw several states ban the practice in the 2004 election cycle but only to see same-sex marriage become federally legalized in 2015.
“Sometimes it’s two steps forward, one step back. But that’s how any movement that has made meaningful change in our country has worked. And so, we’re disappointed but not deterred from this mission,” Troiano said.
Some states already have versions of what Unite America is proposing.
Voters in 2022 implemented all-party primaries followed by ranked-choice general elections. Maine already has ranked choice voting. And other states like California and Louisiana institute so-called jungle primaries, which hold all-party primaries and then send the top two candidates to the general election if no contender hits 50%.
Rising independent voter registrations give Troiano hope that momentum will build for the reforms Unite America is pushing.
In the meantime, the group will conduct more research, link up with interest groups and push more ballot measures, Troiano said.
And, Unite America insists, both parties can benefit.
Democratic strategists have theorized that Harris lost this year’s presidential race because of a brand that was viewed as too far to the left — a reputation that could be confirmed by party primaries fueled by the most liberal voters. And Republicans have ceded ground in the suburbs, historically GOP power bases, with a reputation too firmly tied to Trump.
Democratic senators-elect who scored victories in Trump-won states were able to establish brands detached from that of the national party, and the only two Republican House members who impeached Trump left standing — California Rep. David Valadao and Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse — use all party primaries.
“I think both parties have a medium to long-term advantage in these reforms because it will help them nominate more mainstream candidates,” Troiano said. “Both parties have a declining market share of the electorate as independents continue to grow, so it is to their advantage to think about ways to broaden their appeal.”
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump has been calling Senate Republicans to push for now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be confirmed as attorney general as lawmakers continue to raise concerns over the nomination.
Gaetz was being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. But his resignation from Congress after being announced as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department placed the panel’s report in limbo.
Some Senate Republicans are standing by their calls to see the report, though many now say they will be banking on their colleagues in the Senate Judiciary Committee — known for often controversial public hearings — to do a fulsome vetting of Gaetz.
Gaetz’s nomination will come before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote on whether to send it to the whole of the Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Monday night he’ll leave it to the panel to determine what information they need to vet Gaetz, and whether or not that includes the ethics committee report.
“I’m not sure I know the answer to how that’s going to be handled,” Thune said when asked about the report. “I think that’s going to be a House issue, and then ultimately up to the Senate Judiciary Committee who is going to have the responsibility to go through the confirmation hearing and the process.”
Judiciary committee members say they believe they’ll get information on Gaetz during the committee process with or without the Ethics report. But it could be fiery.
“Whether we get the ethics report or not, the facts are going to come out one way or the other, and I would think it would be in everybody’s best interest, including the president’s not to be surprised by some information that might come out during the confirmation hearing in the background check, so we’re going to do our job and under the Constitution,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
Cornyn seemed to suggest that one way that information could come out is by calling those associated with the allegations to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“It’s not critical that they release the report because we know roughly who the witnesses are, and soon they’ll be called before the judiciary committee,” Cornyn said.
If Gaetz makes it before the committee it is not yet clear what witnesses would ultimately be called to testify. Republicans could call one of these women, or their attorney, before the committee if they want to hear from them. But Democrats would also have the opportunity to call witnesses, and they are not ruling out calling the women who have made allegations against Gaetz to testify.
“That’ll be a committee decision,” Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, said on Monday when asked about whether he’d support calling one of the women.
Calling such a witness has the potential to lead to a public hearing not unlike the high-profile Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearing, during which his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified.
Sen. Thom Tillis, who also serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, alluded to that process on Monday.
Tillis said he was inclined to “honor Speaker Johnson’s position” on the House Ethics Committee report. Johnson has said he doesn’t want the report released. But there are other ways for the committee to obtain information, Tillis said.
“You should take a look at the Kavanaugh hearing,” he said.
The belief that information contained in the report would eventually be known to the committee, either by leak, press report or FBI background check, was widespread among Republicans.
“As we all know, this place leaks like a wet paper bag, and I would not faint with surprise to find out that the ethics report at some point leaks,” Sen. John Kennedy, who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said.
But when some Republicans were pressed on whether they’ll insist on an FBI background check on Gaetz being completed, there was a bit of a lack of clarity. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who will likely return to chair the committee next session, said it would be up to the president to request a background check.
Gaetz has been working the phones, reaching out to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to consider his nomination through regular order.
“I got a phone call from Congressman Gaetz, and I congratulated him and he said,” Will I get a fair shake in the Senate?” Kennedy said. “And I said ‘Absolutely Matt, just come on over, answer all the questionnaires, tell us the truth, tell us what your plans are for the agency and I’m looking forward to it.'”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Gaetz told him he wants a hearing before the committee.
“He wants to move forward with his nomination and wants to be able to answer these things in public and have it go through the regular process, have confirmation here, which I think is good. We should do that,” Hawley said.
Hawley, however, cautioned against a Kavanaugh-style confirmation hearing, something he said was “not normal”.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who opposed Kavanaugh’s confirmation, said she, too, would be looking to the Judiciary Committee’s process. She thinks the House ethics report should be a part of it.
“I think the committee will have an opportunity to again engage in very significant vetting. It would certainly make sense to have something if the report was complete or close to completion,” she said.
Regardless of the committee process there remains skepticism among Republicans about Gaetz’s ability to be confirmed.
“He does have an uphill climb,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-IA, said. “But I look forward to visiting with him about it.”
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday thanked supporters during a virtual call and vowed that the “fight’s not over” in her first remarks since conceding defeat to President-elect Donald Trump three weeks ago.
“The fight that fueled our campaign, a fight for freedom and opportunity, that did not end on Nov. 5. A fight for the dignity of all people? That did not end on Nov. 5,” Harris said. “A fight for the future, a future in which all people receive the promise of America No. A fight that is about a fight for the ideals of our nation, the ideals that reflect the promise of America That fight’s not over.”
“That fight’s still in us, and it burns strong,” Harris later added. “And I know this is an uncertain time. I’m clear-eyed about that. I know you’re clear-eyed about it, and it feels heavy. And I just have to remind you: Don’t you ever let anybody take your power from you. You have the same power that you did before Nov. 5 and you have the same purpose that you did and you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So don’t ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you.”
The grassroots call came immediately after Harris held a call with her campaign’s finance committee. The finance call was attended by more than 400 donors, according to a source familiar.
On the grassroots call, Harris also briefly discussed the historic sum of money that ran her campaign, though she did not address what went wrong as she and her campaign face intense scrutiny over how they could raise that money and lose to Trump so resolutely.
”The outcome of this election, obviously, is not what we wanted. It is not what we work so hard for,” Harris said. “But I am proud of the race we ran. And your role in this was critical. What we did in 107 days was unprecedented.”
Harris said that over the course of those 100-plus days, her campaign raised $1.4 billion, much of which was from grassroot donors: “Nearly 8 million donors contributed an average donation of about $56.”
“You gave all that you could to support our campaign. Because of your efforts — get this — we raised an historic $1.4 billion, almost $1.5 billion from grassroots supporters alone, the most in presidential campaign history,” she said.
“Being involved can make a difference, and that remains true. And that’s one of the pieces that I just want us to please take away — that our fight for freedom and for opportunity and for the promise of America, it included, for example, nearly almost 4 million first-time contributors to our campaign because of the work you did, of helping people know that they can be engaged and that they’re not outside, that they’re inside, that we’re all in this together,” she added.
Harris was joined by her former running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on both calls — a rare appearance from the two, though Harris joined the call from San Francisco and Walz from Minnesota.
Walz on the grassroot donor call also spoke to supporters’ feeling of loss following the election and repeated Harris’ claims that she is not finished with fighting.
“I think all of us saw the possibility, and I know there’s a bit of a feeling of loss because we saw what a real leader looks like,” Walz said.
“She did deliver the best of our better angels,” he added. “She delivered a vision where all of us mattered. She did it with grace and dignity and continues to do that every single day. She is still in this fight. She is doing it every single day. She is not done with her current job. She’s not done being part of it with all of you.”
Harris’ and Walz’s remarks follow some postelection analysis from Harris campaign senior officials during an episode of “Pod Save America” that aired on Tuesday, including some reaction to finances.
Harris campaign Chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said that during the cycle, the bulk of the campaign’s spending was used to reach out to “very-hard-to-find voters,” including low-propensity and young voters, while investing across all swing states because polling reflected that each was in play.
“We were trying to, yes, spend more resources on digital … because we’re trying to find young people, we’re trying to find these lower-propensity voters that were tuned out to politics,” O’Malley Dillon said.
“We had some unique things that we had to do in this race that I think were really critical to do early and spent a lot of resources at an earlier stage than we would have to,” she added, noting those resources were spent on both advertising and field programming. “We saw, up until the very end, that … every single state was in such a margin of error. There was nothing that told us we couldn’t play in one of these states.”
During the podcast, O’Malley Dillon and senior campaign adviser David Plouffe accused the Trump campaign of coordinating with its super PACs, a practice that is not legal, but noted the Democrats need to take note and do the same.
“We have to stop playing a different game as it relates to super PACs and the Republicans. Love our Democratic lawyers. I’m tired of it, OK? They coordinate more than we do. I think amongst themselves, I think with the presidential campaign, like I’m just sick and tired, OK? So, we cannot be at a disadvantage,” Plouffe said.
“I think our side was completely mismatched when it came to the ecosystem of Trump and his super PACs and ours,” O’Malley Dillon said.
“We had a super PAC that was helpful, very important and necessary for the work that they did because they were the kind of central recipients of a lot of the funding on our side and they staked a strategy and a plan, and we clearly could see it, and we knew what it was [going] to spend, but we did not have the ability to have people come in with us early. And so every ounce of advertising, every ounce of carrying these strategic imperatives, of defining the vice president and trying to bring down Trump’s numbers, all sat with us as a campaign,” O’Malley Dillon added.
Harris has rarely been seen since she delivered her concession speech at Howard University the day after the election. She attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery a week later and was seen making her first return to the White House a day after that. The vice president also spent the last week on vacation in Hawaii.
Walz, in the month since the election, has remained almost entirely out of the national spotlight, resuming his duties as the governor of Minnesota.
He delivered his final speech of the 2024 campaign cycle on Nov. 8 from suburban Minneapolis, joining a chorus of fellow Democratic governors who said they would protect their states from threats to reproductive freedoms, citizenship and other things under the Trump administration. The former vice presidential nominee also said he’d work to find common ground with swaths of people who voted “for the other side” on Nov. 5.
Harris and Walz remained mostly separate on the campaign trail in the roughly 15 weeks she had him as her running mate. The governor was present at Harris’ concession speech at Howard University the night after the election but did not speak or publicly interact with her. Before that, the two held a joint rally on Oct. 28 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, their first event together since late August, when they were seen together in Savannah, Georgia, on a bus tour.
Prior to that, their last time at a rally together was in Milwaukee for programming linked to the Democratic National Convention in August.
