Impeach the motherfucker - again

President Donald Trump has upended the panel of federal watchdogs overseeing implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, tapping a replacement for the Pentagon official who was supposed to lead the effort.

A panel of inspectors general had named Glenn Fine — the acting Pentagon watchdog — to lead the group charged with monitoring the coronavirus relief effort. But Trump on Monday removed Fine from his post, instead naming the EPA inspector general to serve as the temporary Pentagon watchdog in addition to his other responsibilities.

That decision, which began circulating on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, effectively removed Fine from his role overseeing the coronavirus relief effort, since the new law permits only current inspectors general to fill the position.

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Fine will return to his Senate-confirmed post as principal deputy inspector general of the Pentagon.

Fine’s removal is Trump’s latest incursion into the community of independent federal watchdogs — punctuated most dramatically by his late Friday ouster of the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson, whose handling of a whistleblower report ultimately led to Trump’s impeachment.

Trump has also begun sharply attacking Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm, following a report from her office that described widespread testing delays and supply issues at the nation’s hospitals.

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Trump's allies in Congress have mostly ignored his recent moves against inspectors general, though Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) recently said they'd ask the administration for a fuller explanation about Atkinson's ouster. On Tuedsay, Grassley offered gentle advice to Trump, urging him to consider IG findings as "a TO DO list & not criticism."

  Politico

Does Chuck think that will do anything?

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said he's received no rationale for replacing Fine, but accused Trump of empowering loyalists over officials with expertise in his administration, calling it an "epidemic of incompetence."

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Lawmakers were given notice Tuesday that Trump had designated Sean O’Donnell, the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency, to take over the Pentagon watchdog’s office in addition to his current post. That designation negated Fine’s appointment to the coronavirus oversight panel.

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Trump's decision to have the EPA inspector general simultaneously monitor the sprawling Department of Defense is also raising alarms among environmental advocates, who worry oversight of EPA could suffer as a result.

I think that's the point.

There are indications, though, that O'Donnell isn't afraid to ruffle feathers among Trump appointees. Despite being on the job at EPA for just a few months, O’Donnell has already clashed with Trump officials there several times.

Last week, O’Donnell issued an unusual alert publicly warning that EPA has failed to tell communities about the risks of living near medical sterilization plants and chemical plants that emit a carcinogenic gas. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanded the alert be rescinded and said he felt blindsided.

Under O'Donnell, the Office of the Inspector General granted a request from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to look into how EPA reviews state air quality clean-up plans, a probe stemming from last year’s battle between the Trump administration and California over environmental enforcement. And earlier this month, O'Donnell issued a report showing a long-term enforcement decline at EPA, drawing criticism from agency leadership.

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[T]he Senate is out of session until at least April 20, and a shortened election-year calendar will give the Senate Armed Services Committee precious little time to confirm Abend, meaning O’Donnell may be in for an extended stay at the Pentagon.