President Trump will install another person ‘loyal’ to him….
The replacement is a former Mike Pence guy….
Fired State Dept, Inspector General Linick was an Obama holdover…..
Inspector General ‘s are NOT supposed to be political pawns….
President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.
Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday night.
The president said he “no longer” had the “fullest confidence” in Linick and promised to send the Senate a nominee “who has my confidence and who meets the appropriate qualifications.” The executive branch is required to notify Congress 30 days ahead of time if it intends to remove an inspector general.
Linick played a minor role in the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings against Trump, ferrying a trove of documents to lawmakers that had been provided to the State Department by Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer.
A State Department spokesperson said that Amb. Stephen Akard, a former career Foreign Service officer, “will now lead the Office of the Inspector General at the State Department” in an acting capacity.
Akard had in 2017 been nominated to serve as the director general of the Foreign Service, a high-ranking human resources role.
That nomination upset veteran U.S. diplomats, who said Akard lacked the long tenure of service usually required for such a prestigious position. The American Academy of Diplomacy even wrote an unusual letter opposing his nomination.
Akard’s nomination as director general was eventually withdrawn, but he was later tapped for a different role, leading the Office of Foreign Missions, for which he was confirmed in September 2019.
Before joining the Trump administration, Akard was chief of staff for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation under then-governor Pence….
We get a PompeoTrump political angle on this
AP Politics
President Donald Trump fires the State Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of alleged political bias in the agency’s management.
David P Gelles
@gelles
Fired by Trump:
May 15, 2020
Steve Linick, State Department Inspector General
May 1, 2020
Christi Grimm, HHS Inspector General
April 7, 2020
Glenn Fine, Defense Department Inspector General
April 3, 2020
Michael Atkinson , Intelligence Community Inspector General
David P Gelles
@gelles
Replying to
@gelles
Steve Linick, State Department Inspector General
– Reportedly looking into Pompeo’s “misuse of a political appointee” to perform personal tasks
Christi Grimm, HHS Inspector General
– Warned of “widespread” and “severe” shortages of testing supplies and PPE
David P Gelles
@gelles
·
Glenn Fine, Defense Department Inspector General
– Oversaw $2 trillion in coronavirus emergency funds
Michael Atkinson , Intelligence Community Inspector General
– Told Congress about whistleblower complaint that led to Impeachment