President Trump is winning.
Winning his personal war on government watchdogs, that is.
The latest case in point: Glenn Fine, who resigned Tuesday as principal deputy inspector general for the Defense Department.
Trump fired Fine last month as the Pentagon’s acting inspector general, a job he had held since 2016.
His demotion — to his previous position — also made Fine ineligible to chair the government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Many observers believe that removing Fine from the powerful post was Trump’s main goal.
At that time, Fine’s spokeswoman said he “remains focused and committed to the important mission,” notes the New York Times.
“But shorn of his leadership role, both at the Defense Department and in the new pandemic oversight panel, Mr. Fine now has opted to leave government,” the Times says.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve with you for the past five years,” Mr. Fine said in an email message to his staff on Monday. “What you do every day is critical to our system of government.”
Trump, who hates criticism from anyone, rages against inspectors general who do their jobs, using their independent investigative powers to keep a critical eye on what he and his administration are doing.
Along with Fine, he has “fired or replaced watchdogs in agencies across the federal government in recent months,” says Politico, adding that the “rolling shakeup” has “stoked the ire of Democrats on Capitol Hill, many of whom blasted Trump at the time for replacing Fine.”
For now, EPA inspector general Sean O’Donnell is doing double duty, trying to do Fine’s former job along with performing his regular job.
Trump nominated Jason Abend, a policy adviser with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to become permanent Pentagon inspector general. The Senate hasn’t scheduled a confirmation hearing for Abend.
