Mr. Sergio Gor
Director of Presidential Personnel
The White House
Dear Mr. Gor:
I am writing in response to your email sent to me and other Inspectors General earlier this
evening wherein you informed each of us that “due to changing priorities, your position as
Inspector General . . . is terminated, effective immediately.”
As Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), I
recommend that you reach out to White House Counsel to discuss your intended course of
action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss
Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General.
Specifically, based upon the 2022 amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978, the
President must notify Congress 30 days prior to removal of an IG and provide “substantive
rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for such removal. 5 U.S.C. § 403(b), as
amended by the section 5202(a) of the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022
(Title LII, Subtitle A, of P.L. 117-263, 136 Stat. 2395, 3222). The requirement to provide the
substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons, was added to better enable Congress to engage on and respond to a proposed removal of an Inspector General in order to protect the independence of Inspectors General.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Hannibal.Ware@sba.gov.
Sincerely,
Hannibal “Mike” Ware
CIGIE Chairperson
Cc:
Rand Paul, Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affiairs
Gary Peters, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs
James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Gerald Connolly, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
One of the “ousted” inspectors general responds.
Do you have a non-PDF link? I’m sure it’s probably fine, but I don’t trust strange PDFs.
January 24, 2025
Mr. Sergio Gor Director of Presidential Personnel The White House
Dear Mr. Gor:
I am writing in response to your email sent to me and other Inspectors General earlier this evening wherein you informed each of us that “due to changing priorities, your position as Inspector General . . . is terminated, effective immediately.”
As Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), I recommend that you reach out to White House Counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General.
Specifically, based upon the 2022 amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978, the President must notify Congress 30 days prior to removal of an IG and provide “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for such removal. 5 U.S.C. § 403(b), as amended by the section 5202(a) of the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 (Title LII, Subtitle A, of P.L. 117-263, 136 Stat. 2395, 3222). The requirement to provide the substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons, was added to better enable Congress to engage on and respond to a proposed removal of an Inspector General in order to protect the independence of Inspectors General.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Hannibal.Ware@sba.gov. Sincerely,
Hannibal “Mike” Ware CIGIE Chairperson
Cc: Rand Paul, Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affiairs Gary Peters, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Gerald Connolly, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform