NY Times’ Peter Baker Asks Psaki if Biden Will ‘Fire’ Trump-Appointed DHS Watchdog, What To Do About Other Trump Holdovers
New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki if President Joe Biden will “fire” Trump-appointed Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, and wondered what can be done about other “Trump-era inspectors general.”
Mr. Cuffari is among a handful of inspectors general who were appointed by then-President Donald Trump following a raft of controversial firings. Cuffari has been under fire for a variety of reasons, most recently by the heads of the
Senate Judiciary Committee.
Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin and Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter this week asking DHS to “address reports that it has delayed and downplayed reports of sexual harassment and misconduct at DHS.”
“[D]elays and revisions in publishing the report appear to have downplayed the severity of the crisis… Sexual harassment and misconduct in agency ranks always demand immediate action. Any efforts by an OIG to obscure or downplay the seriousness or pervasiveness of the issue, or to improperly delay releasing evidence of misconduct, are inappropriate,” Durbin and Grassley wrote in a letter to Cuffari.
During Wednesday’s briefing, Mr. Baker asked Psaki about Cuffari’s situation — and more broadly about other Trump holdovers:
MR. BAKER: Hey, Jen. The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senators Durbin and Grassley, have expressed concern about the DHS inspector general delaying or diminishing reports on sexual misconduct. This is Trump-era holdover. Is the President going to fire or in some way intervene with Mr. Cuffari, who is the inspector general, and is there any broader sense about what to do about Trump-era inspectors general?
MS. PSAKI: I know that there can be changes made. I have not dug into this particular inspector general with the President or the team here. I’m happy to do that. And I can follow up with you after the briefing.
Cuffari is among a sizable handful of inspectors general who were appointed by Trump, and who still serve under President Biden. While some of those holdovers are controversial, the White House says there’s no plan to root them out.
A White House official told Mediaite, in a statement, that “The President supports the important work of inspectors general across the board. As to this specific situation, we understand Secretary Mayorkas is reviewing the matter.”
Watch above via The White House and AP.
