Trump removes watchdog tapped for virus rescue oversight

ap ^ | 4/7/2020 | ERIC TUCKER, MATTHEW DALY and MARY CLARE JALONICK

[bitt]

President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general who was tapped to chair a special oversight board of the $2.2 trillion economic package intended to help businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.

Glenn Fine, the acting Defense Department inspector general and a veteran watchdog, had been selected by peers last month for the position. Now it’s unclear who will oversee the rescue law.

The move threatens to upend the rigorous oversight that Democrats in Congress had demanded of the huge sums of money being pumped into the American economy because of the virus.

“The president now has engaged in a series of actions designed to neuter any kind of oversight of his actions and that of the administration during a time of national crisis, when trillions of dollars are being allocated to help the American people,” Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California told The Associated Press.

[bitt]

P

[goodnesswins]

Gee...I wonder why.

[gspurlock]

Good job! Congress does not have oversight of the President.

[US Navy Vet]

Two Words-—”Swamp Creature”!

[Pearls Before Swine]

Some inside baseball going on here.

Near as I can tell, the main thrust here is that Trump wants to make the appointment, rather than have it made for him by Horowitz. Who, may have integrity, but acts carefully, slowly, and minimally.

[trebb]

And the best President ever keeps on trucking!

[JonPreston]

Glenn Fine

That's Fine with me.

[plain talk]

Trump seems to be heading off at the pass dem and DS attempts to play politics with this money.

[Tijeras_Slim]

The move threatens to upend the rigorous oversight that Democrats in Congress had demanded

They must have wanted this guys hand on the spigot.

[silverleaf]

Ima guess Trump has done a scrub of obama bureaucrats and will find a competent trustworthy replacement

[semimojo]

Congress does not have oversight of the President.

True, provided he doesn't spend any of the taxpayers' money.

[FES0844]

PT’s press conference today should be a good one!

[Zhang Fei]

Snake in the grass removed before he could do any damage:

---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_A._Fine
[The Department of Justice’s inspector general, Glenn Fine, stepped down on Friday after a decade of pushing to clean up and depoliticize a hyperpoliticized department. He will be missed. Mr. Fine’s best-known efforts came in 2008 when he documented the George W. Bush administration’s politically driven firings of four United States attorneys and its politically driven hirings (breaking the civil service law) of scores of civil servants at the Civil Rights Division. Last year, he continued to detail the F.B.I.’s widespread misuse since 2001 of ‘exigent letters’... President Obama should appoint a vigilant successor to Mr. Fine, one who will continue to expose the department’s shortcomings and their costs.[7]]

[LeonardFMason]

TOO SWAMPY. Trump has seen this act before.

[Drango]

Negative much AP?

[upsdriver]

The Swamp will most definitely attempt to launder much of this stimulus package. Trump is determined to not let that happen. I think this move is just part of Trump’s neutering of the “deep state”.

[silverleaf]

Horowtiz came out in defense of Atkinson
After yesterday’s presser it became obvious that the entire “Inspector General” bureaucracy across all agencies needs a scrub

[montag813]

Good. Now remove the HHS I.C. as well.

[Zhang Fei]

For once, Trump takes out a problem employee in record time (just over a week) before the guy unleashes havoc:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_A._Fine
[On March 30, 2020, Fine was named chair of The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, to oversee the $2 trillion stimulus funds signed into law by President Donald Trump in response to the coronavirus outbreak.[3] On April 7, 2020, Fine was removed from the position by President Trump.[4]]