President Trump removed State Department inspector general Steve Linick from his post on Friday, part of a recurring theme lately of the president ousting top officials following the end of the impeachment trial in February and the onset of the coronavirus outbreak-two story lines that have elicited a significant amount of scrutiny.
President Donald Trump talks to the media after landing on the South Lawn of the White House on May ... [+] 
Critics allege Trump is using his power to undermine oversight of his administration and point to the president's propensity to announce the removals late on Fridays -when the news cycle has slowed down and many people stop paying attention to the minute-by-minute news of the workweek-as evidence his intentions are nefarious.
On Friday, Trump removed Linick after he reportedly opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo-the third time in six weeks that such a move has been announced on a Friday night (according to Politico, the investigation concerned alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for Pompeo and his wife.)
On May 1, 2020, Trump ousted acting Health and Human Services inspector general Christi Grimm, after she filed a report finding "severe shortages" at hospitals combating coronavirus.
On April 7, 2020, Trump removed acting Defense Department inspector general Glenn Fine, who was set to oversee the Trump administration's handling of the new $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package.
On April 3, 2020, Trump fired inspector general Michael Atkinson-whose decision to share a whistleblower's complaint with Congress about Trump's Ukraine dealings jumpstarted last fall's impeachment proceedings.
On February 7, 2020, Trump canned European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland and National Security Council member Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, both witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial, just two days after Trump's acquittal.
Democratic lawmakers strongly opposed Trump's removal of Linick. "The President's late-night weekend firing of the State Department inspector general has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people," Pelosi wrote in a statement. "The President must cease his pattern of reprisal and retaliation against the public servants who are working to keep Americans safe, particularly during this time of global emergency."
"This termination is not only another middle-of-the-night purge of a government watchdog, but a potential coverup by President Trump and [Secretary Pompeo]," Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), wrote on Twitter.
Republican Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa) also criticized Trump's move.
"The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose," Romney said on Twitter. "It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power."
Few Republicans have commented on Linick's removal. White House Economic advisor Peter Navarro said Sunday on ABC's This Week that he "support[s] whatever this president does in terms of his hiring and firing decisions" and that Trump "clearly has the legal authority" to fire Linick. Navarro also suggested that Linick may have been a part of the "deep state," adding the White House has had "tremendous problems" with people not carrying out the "Trump agenda."
The New York Timesreported Saturday that Pompeo urged President Trump to fire Linick, prompting Democrats to cry foul. Congressional Democrats announced Saturday they would open an investigation into what they said "may be an act of illegal retaliation."
"Such an action, transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability, would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation," Representative Eliot Engel (D-N.Y), chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote in a statement.
Trump's slow-motion Friday night massacre of inspectors general ( Washington Post)
Trump Continues Post-Impeachment Purge: Fourth Inspector General Gets The Axe ( Forbes)
Democrats Launch Probe Into Trump's Firing Of State Department Inspector General (NPR)
Trump Ousted State Dept. Watchdog at Pompeo's Urging; Democrats Open Inquiry ( New York Times)
I cover national politics for Forbes. Previously, I've written for TIME, Newsweek, the New York Daily News and VICE News. I also launched my own startup, Newsreel, a
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