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1 1 (January 27, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesgj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the IegisI9tive debate since 1914 0 Updated January 27, 2025 Removal of Inspectors General: Rules, Practice, and Considerations for Congress In 1978, Congress passed the Inspector General Act (IG Act; P.L. 95-452) with the intent to improve oversight within certain executive branch agencies. During the floor debate on the legislation, Senator Thomas Eagleton described independence as the most important characteristic of the inspectors general (Congressional Record, vol. 124, part 29, October 22, 1978, p. 30952). While this independence has been considered essential, it is also weighed against the fact that inspectors general (IGs) are part of the agencies and that their dual mission is to report to both agency leaders and Congress. The removal procedures for IGs fall between removal without limitations and removal only for cause and have been considered an integral element of IG independence since 1978. Nonetheless, Presidents have removed IGs, creating concerns in Congress and with the public regarding the independence of IGs, which have led to both oversight of and changes to statutory removal requirements. This In Focus provides an overview of the current removal procedure for IGs, identifies past presidential removals, and discusses potential issues for Congress. Removal Procedure The removal procedure for presidentially appointed IGs is found in Title 5, Section 403(b), which reads in part: An Inspector General may be removed from office by the President. If an Inspector General is removed from office or is transferred to another position or location within an establishment, the President shall communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress (including the appropriate congressional committees), not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized by law, other than transfer or removal. For IGs appointed by agency heads under Title 5, Section 415, the same notice rule applies, except that the head of the agency, rather than President, appoints and removes the IG. The 30-day notice requirement was established under the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-409), and the requirement that notice include a substantive rationale was added by the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 (Title LII, Subtitle A, of P.L. 117-263). Further, in most cases, the President must provide Congress with written notice 15 days before placing an IG on non- duty status and cannot do so at all during the 30-day notice period before removal of an IG without a specific finding that the IG poses a potential threat to employees or the interest of the government. Additional protection for ongoing investigations is provided by a requirement that when an IG is removed or placed on non-duty status, the acting IG must report to Congress within 15 days on the office's projects at the time the IG was removed (5 U.S.C. 405(f)). When an IG position is vacant, the first assistant is the designated acting IG. The President may appoint another official working in an IG office to serve as an acting IG instead. Such a change also requires 30-day advance notice to Congress including a substantive rationale for the action. Remova Practice There are several examples of Presidents removing IGs. Across these actions, Congress has objected that the removals have the potential to undermine the actual and perceived independence of IGs. Presdent Reagan's Removal of- A nspectors General During presidential transitions, turnover of most political appointees is the norm. New Presidents have the authority to remove IGs at the start of their Administrations and make their own nominations. However, following such action at the start of the Reagan Administration, practice has disfavored removal of IGs during presidential transitions. One of President Ronald Reagan's first official acts upon his inauguration on January 20, 1981, was to remove all 15 confirmed and acting IGs then working across the executive branch. This action appears to have caused bipartisan concern in Congress. On February 3, 1981, the New York Times quoted Representatives L. H. Fountain and Frank Horton-the chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Government Operations, respectively-as saying that the move had the potential to politicize, and thereby undermine, the position of IG (Robert Pear, Ouster of All Inspectors General by Reagan Called Political Move, New York Times, February 3, 1981, p. B14). The controversy dissipated after President Reagan's nominees (including many of the previously removed IGs) were well received by Congress. The Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources of the House Committee on Government Operations held a hearing on April 1, 1981, at which Chairman Fountain

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