Trump Takes Aim at Agencies That Police Wrongdoing

“President Donald Trump is taking aim at federal offices that investigate government malfeasance and protect workers from retribution, summarily firing and replacing five top ethics officials this week in an apparent attempt to consolidate his power over the sprawling federal bureaucracy,” the Washington Post reports.

“The firings were met with widespread condemnation from former officials and good-government advocates, who called them an ominous indication of how Trump intends to flout the normal guardrails — and, in some cases, federal law — that constrain public officials.”

“Trump has pledged to root out government waste, fraud and abuse, but advocates noted that he is systematically eliminating many of the internal mechanisms already tasked with doing that work.”