Trump Nominees Grilled on Legality of Presidential Firings

Questioning Nominees on Presidential Authority

• 🎯 Senator Maggie Hassan questioned President Trump's nominees, John Walk (USDA Inspector General) and T. March Bell (HHS Inspector General), regarding their stance on following presidential directives that might break the law.
• ⚖️ Both nominees stated they would uphold the Constitution and established laws, regardless of who issued a directive.

The Legality of Inspector General Firings

• 🏛️ Hassan highlighted that President Trump illegally fired 17 inspectors general shortly after taking office, including those for USDA and HHS, removing individuals tasked with preventing fraud, waste, and abuse.
• ❓ Hassan asked both nominees if they supported the president's firing of their predecessors, who were plaintiffs in lawsuits against their departments.
• 🚫 Mr. Walk stated the president is entitled to remove inspectors general and could not answer due to pending litigation.
• 🤷 Mr. Bell, not privy to the legal analysis, supported the executive head's right to remove any employee, while acknowledging a federal judge found the firings broke the law.

Commitment to Upholding the Law and Investigations

• 📜 Hassan reminded the nominees that upon confirmation, they would take an oath to uphold the law and act as watchdogs.
• ⚠️ Both nominees declined to commit to continuing open investigations initiated by their predecessors, citing a lack of familiarity with the specifics, but pledged to review them on their merits if confirmed.

Investigation into Fraudulent Billing

• 💰 Hassan pressed Mr. Bell on whether he would continue investigating opioid treatment programs fraudulently billing Medicare for services not rendered, a scheme costing taxpayers hundreds of millions.
• ✅ Mr. Bell committed to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and to becoming familiar with the specific investigation, but did not give a direct yes or no to continuing that particular inquiry.