President Trump has ousted the Defense Department’s inspector general — and in doing so, tossed a wrench into the workings of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief effort.

Word of Trump’s removal of acting Pentagon IG Glenn Fine reached Congress on Tuesday morning.

The president’s action “effectively removed Fine from his role overseeing the coronavirus relief effort, since the new law permits only current inspectors general to fill the position,” reports Politico.

Fine had been chosen by a panel of other inspectors general to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which put him in charge of spending of hundreds of billions of tax dollars for Americans impacted by the Covid-19 virus.

Now the panel must choose another leader.

Trump’s move “will be seen by some as another instance of the president chafing at independent oversight,” says the Washington Post.

Fine will remain at the Pentagon as principal deputy inspector general.

He’ll be replaced at the top by Sean O’Donnell, the Environmental Protection Agency IG, who will try to do both jobs, likely for an extended time.

Trump nominated Jason Abend, a policy adviser at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to become the permanent DoD IG. But with the Senate out of session for much of this month and in the midst of an election year, there’s little time for Abend to be confirmed.