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CORRUPTION: Trump Fires Inspector General Who Was Investigating McConnell's Wife
Trump removed the Department of Transportation's Acting Inspector General who was investigating Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell's wife, who is the head of the department. Most of you already know but it is INSANE that McConnell's wife is in Trump's cabinet. INSANE. She was steering millions of federal dollars towards her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky as he faced low approval ratings and a tough reelection bid.
In yet another assault on checks and balances, Trump abruptly removed the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) independent watchdog late Friday [May 15th] – the same night he announced plans to fire the State Department Inspector General (IG). At DOT, the acting IG was overseeing a high profile investigation of Secretary Chao’s alleged favoritism benefiting her husband Senator Mitch McConnell’s political prospects, but has now been replaced with a political appointee from within the agency.
Trump’s decision to sideline DOT acting IG Mitch Behm (who has 17 years of experience with OIG) was lost in the shuffle of outrage following the announcement that Trump planned to fire the State Department IG, but potential conflicts of interest abound. The most high profile is the DOT OIG’s review of allegations that Secretary Chao gave Senator McConnell’s constituents special treatment and helped steer millions of federal dollars to Kentucky as he is facing low approval ratings and a tough reelection bid.
Chao is completely corrupt, working to fund her family's pockets in China and her husband's. This has been well-documented for years and somehow makes almost zero headlines.
This move is the latest salvo of Trump’s assault on oversight. And it looks like the President made sure to cover all his bases to block accountability, not only nominating an IG to succeed the experienced watchdog who held the post, but also demoting the acting IG who was investigating Chao, and installing a political appointee to serve in his place while the Senate considers a permanent replacement.
Trump’s pick to be the new acting IG, Howard “Skip” Elliott, already has a job overseeing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an office he will now also be in charge of policing.
With everything that's going on don't let stories like Moscow Mitch's wife slip through the cracks. We must not let these corrupt people get away with it. They must be held accountable.
Inspectors General are meant to be apolitical and independent, so they do not typically come from among an administration’s pool of political appointees.
The President’s attack on inspector general independence at DOT deserves just as much public scrutiny as all the rest.
It is no coincidence that an experienced and independent watchdog was sidelined while carrying out an investigation into alleged political corruption involving the Transportation Secretary and Trump’s chief enabler in the Senate, Leader McConnell. The administration’s Friday night announcements appear to be designed to keep us from taking notice. It is incumbent upon Congress, the public, and the good government community not to let Trump get away with it yet again.