Trump is purging at least a dozen inspectors

The Trump administration fired at least a dozen federal guards late Friday night, a possibly illegal move that could face legal challenges.

Speaking from the Senate floor Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the firing of the guards a “cold purge.”

“These firings are Donald Trump’s way of telling us that he is terrified of accountability and hostile to facts and transparency,” said Schumer, Democrat of New York.

The White House did not confirm the shooting and did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

First sent to the inspector general on Friday, emails from the president’s director were sent on Friday saying that “due to changing priorities, your position as inspector general … is being terminated, effective immediately,” according to CBS News, a U.S. partner BBC.

The group of fired watchdogs includes the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services and the inspector general of the Small Business Administration, CBS said.

According to the New York Times, there were competing lists of fired watchdogs. Watchdogs in the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency were reportedly considered.

Congress created the inspector generals in the wake of the Watergate scandal as part of a wave of reforms designed to crack down on corruption, waste and fraud. Independent watchdogs — who work for federal agencies but are not overseen by the head of those agencies — are designed to guard against mismanagement and abuse of power.

Although appointed by the president, they are expected to be non-partisan.

The demotion may have violated a law that requires the White House to give Congress 30 days notice and information related to the case before removing the inspector general.

Hannibal Way, the inspector general of the Small Business Administration and head of the agency-wide Watchdog Council, sent a letter to Sergio Gore, the White House chief of staff to the president, suggesting the firings were invalid.

“I recommend that you contact the White House for a course of action,” Way wrote. “At this point, we do not believe that the actions taken are legally sufficient for the dismissal appointed by the president, which is confirmed by the Senate, the inspectors general.”

Democrats were quick to criticize the president for the move.

Schumer said the move was a “preview of the lawless approach” by Trump and his administration.

Jerry Connolly, Democrat of Virginia and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called the shootings a “coup d’état” and “an attack on transparency and accountability.”

Some Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Gresley of Iowa and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, also expressed concern about the purge.

“I don’t understand why you would fire people whose mission is to grow waste, fraud and abuse,” Collins said at the Capitol on Saturday. “I don’t understand it.”