On January 24th, President Trump fired 17 Inspectors General (IG) across the US government. In the wake of the abuses of the Nixon administration, Congress created IGs in order to serve as independent watchdogs who could audit and investigate their agencies when allegations of waste, fraud and abuse arose. Their role is essential to holding corrupt actors to account, and their unlawful removal should be seen as an attempt by the Trump administration to avoid accountability with the American people. According to the law, before removing an IG, a president must give Congress a 30-day notice and substantive reasoning for the firing.