Finance Democrats Call for Halt to Unlawful Nomination of March Bell to be Health Care Inspector General
In Letter to Finance Committee Chairman, Finance Democrats Say Trump’s Removal of Christie Grimm as HHS Inspector General Was Illegitimate and Unlawful
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today led every Democratic member of the Finance Committee in a call for Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to table consideration of Thomas March Bell’s nomination to be Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) because the position is not vacant under current law.
“Mr. Bell has been nominated to fill a position which is not vacant as President Trump’s attempt to remove the current HHS IG Christi Grimm was unlawful and illegitimate. Proceeding with Mr. Bell’s nomination would undermine the integrity of the IG’s office, and deeply undermine the credibility of laws passed by Congress,” the senators wrote.
Just days after he was sworn in as president, Trump attempted to remove dozens of independent, nonpartisan inspectors general from their posts around the federal government. There is ongoing litigation as to whether this action violates the Securing Inspector General Independence Act. That law provides that an IG can only be removed for cause. Trump failed to identify any legitimate cause for removing Grimm and other IGs.
These offices are watchdogs that identify waste, fraud, and abuse across federal programs. HHS OIG is among the largest, identifying new trends and tactics by unscrupulous actors to misuse federal dollars.
The text of the letter can be found here.
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