The coronavirus pandemic has all government officials struggling to keep everything under control. But in a series of personnel shakeups, President Donald Trump has dismissed the acting inspector general of the Defense Department Glenn Fine.
CNN reports that Trump has dismissed Fine from his post as acting inspector general of the defense department. Fine’s dismissal also means he will no longer serve as chairperson of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee that will oversee the $2 trillion in emergency coronavirus funds. Fine was appointed chairperson by an independent federal watchdog group to lead the team that will prevent any potential abuse or waste of the funds that will be used to fight the pandemic.
Fine is the latest in Trump’s personnel change-ups that appear to stem all the way back to his Impeachment trial. Last week, Trump fired the Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, the person responsible for forwarding the Ukraine whistleblower complaints to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees as per the law.
Defense Department spokesperson Dwrena K. Allen confirmed Fine’s dismissal from the acting inspector general post but did not disclose the reasons. Allen did, however, reveal that Fine’s firing from his position would automatically not make him capable of serving as chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. “The DoD OIG is still part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Mr. Fine is no longer serving as the Chair because he is no longer serving in an acting IG capacity,” said Allen, who added that Fine will return to his original post as Principal Deputy Inspector General.
In other related news, this week’s White House briefing saw Trump berate the press for their questions regarding his administration. During the briefing, the President refused to answer nor comment on reports regarding the shortcomings of the administration, and on Sunday’s briefing, he even refused to let health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci answer questions regarding the supposed treatment that Trump has often touted to be what can cure the virus.
Trump had also accused an experienced Health & Human Services Department watchdog official’s report of being politically motivated after said official reported about the shortage of critical supplies in hospitals all over the country.