Add your name to the petition applauding Phyllis Fong, the inspector general who refused to comply with Trump's illegal, mass firing of inspectors general
Phyllis Fong, USDA Inspector General
On Friday, January 24, on his fourth day in office, Donald Trump fired 18 inspectors general. Inspector general is, according to Wikipedia, "a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency."
The Inspector General Act of 1978 (see Wikipedia for more info on the act) requires that the president give 30 days notice to Congress before firing inspectors general, which obviously did not happen since Trump had only been in office for four days at that point. This is a blatant violation of the law, which even Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham admitted.
On Monday, January 27, one of the inspectors general who was illegally fired by Trump showed up to work anyway, and was apparently escorted out of the building where she worked by security. Her name is Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the United States Department of Agriculture who was first appointed by George W. Bush. She showed up to work because she had concluded, along with both Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, that "these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
We should applaud Fong for her bravery, and her dedication to the law. If she is considering a lawsuit challenging her firing, I am sure she would be glad to know that thousands of Americans would support her in that decision. As such, I have created a petition allowing you to do exactly that.
Please, sign the petition to Phyllis Fong, one of the inspectors general who was illegally fired by Donald Trump. Applaud her bravery in showing up for work in defiance of her illegal firing, and let her know that you would support her in any lawsuit she files challenging it.
The Inspector General Act of 1978 (see Wikipedia for more info on the act) requires that the president give 30 days notice to Congress before firing inspectors general, which obviously did not happen since Trump had only been in office for four days at that point. This is a blatant violation of the law, which even Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham admitted.
On Monday, January 27, one of the inspectors general who was illegally fired by Trump showed up to work anyway, and was apparently escorted out of the building where she worked by security. Her name is Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the United States Department of Agriculture who was first appointed by George W. Bush. She showed up to work because she had concluded, along with both Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, that "these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
We should applaud Fong for her bravery, and her dedication to the law. If she is considering a lawsuit challenging her firing, I am sure she would be glad to know that thousands of Americans would support her in that decision. As such, I have created a petition allowing you to do exactly that.
Please, sign the petition to Phyllis Fong, one of the inspectors general who was illegally fired by Donald Trump. Applaud her bravery in showing up for work in defiance of her illegal firing, and let her know that you would support her in any lawsuit she files challenging it.
Sponsored by
To:
Phyllis Fong, USDA Inspector General
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, applaud you for your bravery in defying Donald Trump's illegal firing of you and as many as 17 other inspectors general. If you were to file a lawsuit challenging your illegal termination, we would support your efforts.