Congress cannot, directly, prohibit the President from firing Inspectors General -- though it could at some point amend the IG Act to allow the IGs to contest their dismissal as pretextual in court. But that would take a new law that won't pass anytime soon. So what to do now?/1
In the forthcoming Covid-19 bill, Congress could consider any number of ways to condition aid on the President's actions. Here's one draft possibility: "Provided, however, that no funds authorized or appropriated under this Act may be obligated or disbursed on any day /2
on or after the date on which the President exercises his authority under [cite to IG Act] in dismissing any Inspector General." I can think of other formulations, but that is a start.
One further point: To drive this home, Congress would need to explicitly declare /3
One further point: To drive this home, Congress would need to explicitly declare /3
that the obligation/disbursement provision is NOT severable from the rest of the Act, so that if the President were to successfully challenge the provision as an unconstitutional restriction on his removal authority (which is, I would agree, plausible) then the entire /4
Act would fall and the funds appropriated and authorized would be rescinded as well. Severability is almost always a question of Congressional intent -- and Congress can and should be quite explicit. /5
If Congress doesn't seek to reinvigorate its authority in the face of an executive that disregards existing norms and limits, there is no hope of recovering American democracy. I would respectfully suggest it act now lest it be too late. /fin
