The health department's top watchdog vowed to Congress that Trump's moves to fire or replace inspectors general would not affect more than a dozen ongoing probes into the administration’s Covid19 response
The health department's top watchdog vowed to Congress on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's moves to fire or replace inspectors general — including his recent effort to effectively oust her — would not affect more than a dozen ongoing probes into the administration’s Covid-19 response.
"I personally and professionally cannot let the idea of providing unpopular information drive decision-making in the work that we do,"Grimm, who’s served as the acting Health and Human Services inspector general since January, detailed 14 different projects underway to track the Trump administration's response to the pandemic, including a newly announced audit into $50 billion that HHS is disbursing to health care providers. The office’s work already has been controversial: Grimm in April released a survey her staff conducted that found hospitals generally lacked supplies and equipment to prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic.as Grimm’s “opinion” before wrongly claiming that Grimm — a career civil servant — was an appointee of former President Barack Obama. Trump nominated a full-time replacement for Grimm three weeks later. That backdrop informed Tuesday morning’s briefing, conducted over video with occasional glitches. “As the committee with jurisdiction over the entire IG community, it is our responsibility to protect the IGs from political interference,” said Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney in her opening remarks. Meanwhile, panel Republicans took issue with the need for a briefing — saying that Grimm’s survey relied on hospital responses that are now outdated — and disputed the media coverage of Trump’s nomination of a full-time HHS inspector general. “Any allegation that Christi Grimm was fired or removed for issuing a report is simply incorrect,” said Rep. Jim Jordan , the ranking member. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have urged Trump to nominate permanent, Senate-confirmed inspectors general, warning that acting IGs — who can be replaced by the president without any warning — are more susceptible to pressure and strong-arming by the agencies they're supposed to oversee. As Grimm was testifying, another former acting IG,, just weeks after Trump demoted him and elbowed him out of a role overseeing the federal coronavirus response. But unlike Fine, Trump has not moved to sideline Grimm while her permanent replacement awaits confirmation. And Grimm emphasized that she has no plans to change her approach, telling members that the office has not shifted strategy since Trump nominated Jason Weida on May 1 to be the full-time HHS inspector general. Weida, an assistant U.S. attorney in Boston who is awaiting confirmation, would replace Daniel Levinson, the former HHS inspector general who retired in June 2019. However, Trump has shown he'll move to oust Senate-confirmed inspectors general if they anger him. Trump removed intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson last month, citing Atkinson's handling of a whistleblower complaint that fueled the House's impeachment inquiry. And he booted State Department IG Steve Linick earlier this month, citing a request by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was being investigated by Linick. Trump attacked both Atkinson and Linick as politically biased Obama appointees and circumvented a 30-day requirement to notify Congress by placing them on administrative leave. Grimm on Tuesday largely steered clear of politically sensitive issues, instead using the briefing to roll out the HHS inspector general office’sto handle Covid-19-related audits and mentioning that “dozens” of additional topics are under discussion for future probes. She also said that the administration had taken “numerous actions” to address the hospital shortages identified in the April survey. Meanwhile, members took turns pushing Grimm to investigate potential conflicts, such as Rep. Gerry Connolly calling on HHS to investigate aabout a former Trump White House official winning a federal contract to supply masks despite no prior contracting experience. Republicans also pressed Grimm on whether she was investigating China and the World Health Organization’s role in the outbreak, claiming that they conspired to hide information about the virus’ threat. “Did the delay in understanding the severity of the pandemic cause a delay in the administration’s ability to respond?” Rep. James Comer asked. “We do not have current work looking at that,” Grimm responded, adding that it’s a topic that would potentially be probed in the future.The president’s amped-up rhetoric surrounding the integrity of the 2020 election has many wondering
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