USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Post Escorted From Office by Security

Last Friday, President Donald Trump purged several agencies of their inspectors general, demanding that at least 17 people in the role immediately turn in their work laptops and ID badges. One of those IGs, Phyllis Fong at the US Department of Agriculture, decided not to leave, believing the order to be illegal. According to a report from Reuters, she was escorted from the building today by security.

Fong is a 22-year veteran of the inspector general office with the USDA. And while that multi-decade career is probably in part why the Trump administration axed her (something something swamp, something something career bureaucrat, etc.), she also likely carried among the most institutional knowledge of IG operations in the federal government. In 2008, she was named the first Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and sat on the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board that oversaw federal spending related to disaster relief. Per her biography on the USDA website, she was also the recipient of “numerous awards in recognition of her leadership in enhancing sound financial management practices and policies in the Federal Government.”

Seems like the kind of person that you’d want around if your whole thing is eliminating wasteful spending and inefficient operations. Of course, perhaps there is some other reason that you’d want to sack a person who is an expert in your stated goals. Maybe, just for instance, she was heading up an investigation into Neuralink, a company run by Elon Musk that is seeking to implant chips into peoples’ brains. Then maybe you’d fire her as retribution—hypothetically speaking, that is.

Regardless of why Fong and some of her colleagues were fired, her position that the axings were illegal seems like it may hold weight. CIGIE responded to the firings by stating they appeared to violate federal law, with chairman Hannibal Ware writing in a letter to the White House that “At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General.” Senator Adam Schiff has also explicitly called the firings illegal. Even Republican Senator Chuck Grassley put out a statement urging the Trump administration to explain the firings and why there was no 30-day notice as required under the law.

Will any of them actually do something about it, though? Thus far, the Democrats have proven feckless in the face of Trump’s shock and awe campaign. When confusion over a Trump executive order seemed to lead to Medicaid portals becoming inaccessible across the country, Dem leadership announced an emergency meeting…for the next day.

Maybe they’ll get around to trying to reinstate the USDA’s inspector general next week if they have time. It’s not like the agency is currently monitoring a bird flu outbreak at the moment or anything. No rush!