Schumer Calls Trump’s Removal of IG From Coronavirus Relief Oversight Panel a ‘Corrupt Action’

President Trump has replaced the Pentagon’s Inspector General a week after he was named to head a committee charged with overseeing the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus relief package.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D) called it a “corrupt action” and said it only “strengthens our resolve to hold the admin accountable and enforce the strict oversight provisions of the CARES Act.”

Pres. Trump’s corrupt action to sideline Acting Inspector General Glenn Fine—who was newly-appointed as chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee—only strengthens our resolve to hold the admin accountable and enforce the strict oversight provisions of the CARES Act.

Pres. Trump’s corrupt action to sideline Acting Inspector General Glenn Fine—who was newly-appointed as chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee—only strengthens our resolve to hold the admin accountable and enforce the strict oversight provisions of the CARES Act. https://t.co/tk8aHrGXEo

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 7, 2020

Glenn Fine, who has served as acting Pentagon inspector general since 2016, will go back to being the principal deputy inspector general and will no longer lead the Coronavirus relief oversight panel, his office said Tuesday.

“Yesterday, the president nominated Mr. Jason Abend for the position of DoD Inspector General,” Dwrena Allen, spokeswoman at the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, said in an email. “The same day, the president also designated Mr. Sean W. O’Donnell, who is the Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General (EPA IG), to serve as the Acting DoD IG in addition to his current duties at the EPA.”

The EPA IG’s office similarly told The Hill that O’Donnell “is filling both roles for now” and that “no changes are expected at the EPA OIG.”

Fine “remains focused and committed to the important mission of the DoD OIG,” Allen added.

The move also means that Fine is no longer on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, she said.

The panel of inspectors general was created by the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill Congress passed last month to audit and investigate the implementation of the bill. Fine was appointed as chairman of the committee last week.

Schumer had praised his appointment in a statement last week. “Glenn Fine has a good reputation as a tough federal prosecutor and former [Department of Justice] Inspector General, and must exercise his full oversight authority to ensure that the Trump administration implements the CARES Act as intended,”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) had supported his appointment.

“Congressional Democrats transformed the CARES Act from corporations-focused to workers-first.  The legislation requires that taxpayer dollars given to industry go to workers’ paychecks and benefits, not be used for CEO bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends.  Unfortunately, the President has made clear that he intends to disregard critical oversight provisions that hold the Administration accountable to the law.

“Consistent with the CARES Act, Acting Inspector General Fine must exercise his full oversight authority to ensure that the Administration uses this historic relief package to help workers, not to pad the pockets of corporations and the wealthiest few with taxpayer dollars at the expense of those in need.”