U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, is sticking up for President Trump’s actions since the once former president became president again.
That included last week’s sudden firing of at least 15 inspectors general without a 30-day notice. The federal workers are independent watchdogs.
Hawley said that Trump’s actions were legal and justified.
“Well, the IGs don’t need the notice. Notice has to be provided for Congress, to Congress,” Hawley told Missourinet. “I think in general, this ought to be a wakeup call to (inspectors general). You need to do your job. I mean, seriously, you can’t just go dark for years on end. You can’t refuse to cooperate with congressional investigators. You can’t refuse to respond to congressional inquiries.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Kansas City, said that Trump’s actions to “purge dozens” of inspectors general is “unlawful and unacceptable.”
Trump’s actions included a directive to freeze federal funding for numerous loans and programs.
“The (Office of Management and Budget) is going to review going forward some grants, not any federally mandated programs, but some grants to make sure there’s no DEI in the grant(s),” Hawley said. “In other words, (to make sure) that they’re not awarding grants to entities based on diversity, equity, inclusion.”
But Hawley also reassured Missouri residents that funding to several vital programs are not being frozen.
“To be clear, Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, Head Start, SNAP, farm programs – none of those things are affected at all,” he said. “They won’t even be reviewed.”
Freshman Congressman Wesley Bell, a Democrat from St. Louis County, went on social media to condemn the attempted funding freeze, saying those funds support seniors, nonprofits, and medical research.
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