greg brower, thank you for joining us today. i mean, this is ongoing. we know it's happening with the freezing of the civil rights division cases. we know about the prosecuting, the prosecutors discussions and the investigating of the investigators. but the inspectors generals now are the ones who are the most vulnerable. you just heard someone who was an ig saying $40 billion was returned to the government. so why do you think trump is firing at least these 18 inspectors general now? >> well, on one hand, laura, and thanks for having me on. it's because he can the president appoints these inspectors general. some are appointed by agency heads, but most are appointed by the president. and as a result, they serve at the pleasure of the president and he can remove them. the problem with the ig's, though, as opposed to other presidential appointees, is that there is a federal law that requires a president, any president, when he wants to terminate the employment of a federal ig, he has to give notice to congress and provide a reason. and in this case, anyw

have former fbi assistant director and former legislative counsel at the department of justice, greg browern to make. both the doj moves and the inspector general firings are things that we've not seen before with respect to the doj firings. these seem. >> to be career. >> positioned people who do have certain rights and will likely appeal their dismissals. and so we are used to, as you. >> know. >> a new administration coming in and changing all of the political appointees, both presidential appointees and those serving at that layer or two below them. but we've never seen anything like this, and we certainly haven't seen anything like this with respect to the ig. so what i'm watching is, is the congressional reaction with respect to the ig's, in particular, the ig's work for congress, senator grassley and others have been big champions of the ig community. it's important that we have a robust ig corps. and so i suspect this is going to raise a lot of attention in congress on both sides of the aisle. and that's what i'm looking for next. >> so you mentioned the ig firings in a questionable