Judge refuses to reinstate inspectors general Trump fired: ‘They deserved better’

Ana Reyes says firings likely violated federal law but do not justify reinstatement before lawsuit ends

A federal judge refused on Wednesday evening to reinstate eight former inspectors general who filed a lawsuit after the Trump administration fired them with no warning and little explanation.

US district judge Ana Reyes said that while Donald Trump likely violated the federal law governing the process for removing the non-partisan watchdogs from office, the president’s firings didn’t cause enough irreparable harm to justify reinstating the watchdogs before the lawsuit is resolved.

The eight plaintiffs were among 17 inspectors general who were fired by Trump on 24 January. Each received identical two-sentence emails from the White House that attributed their removal to unspecified “changing priorities”. The mass firings targeted all but two of the cabinet agencies’ inspectors general.