“He’s sending a message to inspectors general,” one former IG told me: “Do your job at your peril.” More over, the former IG notes, “Linick is being replaced by an ambassador. Loyalty to Trump above all else.”
I’ve been covering Washington, DC, for a long time now and one thing I’ve noticed is that when one party destroys a norm it seldom comes back. When the other party comes to control, which inevitably happens, that party takes advantage of the new power. They usually push it even further.
So while Republicans in Congress sit back cowardly and don’t raise a peep, keep in mind this is not just about President Trump’s unprecedented war on accountability, this is about the kind of nation we will have after President Trump leaves office, whether in January or 2025. It will be a world where watchdogs are replaced by lapdogs. It already is becoming that world, and that doesn’t serve anyone except whoever is in power. And you will have only President Trump and the people in Congress and the media who sold you out so as to curry favor with him to blame.
