The U.S. Department of Agriculture responded on Wednesday to reports claiming the agency’s former inspector general was forcibly removed from her office after resisting her dismissal from the Trump administration.
Phyllis Fong was a fixture at the USDA, serving in her role for over two decades since being appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The Trump administration ordered her termination on Friday, but according to a Reuters report, Fong defied the directive, arriving at her office as usual on Monday. Security personnel were subsequently dispatched to escort her off the agency’s premises, according to the report.
The USDA has denied that a security detail removed Fong from her office.
“According to an internal security report, Phyllis Fong departed the USDA premises on Monday, January 27, of her own accord,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News. “She was accompanied by two friends who she paused to take selfies with on her way out. Security officials did not play any role in her departure.”
Fong said the way she was fired broke protocols.
In an email on Saturday, she cited guidance from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, saying that “these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.” The CIGIE said that the Trump administration had violated a rule that appears to require the president to give both houses of Congress reasons for the dismissals 30 days in advance.
Fong worked at the CIGIE from 2008 to 2014.
Fong was among 17 inspector generals at multiple government agencies the Trump administration fired over the weekend.
The firings have attracted criticism from both sides of the aisle, including from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who described them as a “purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.”
Trump allies, including his former lawyer, Sidney Powell, have defended the dismissals.
Powell defended the decision on X, saying “existing IGs are virtually worthless.”
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“They may bring a few minor things to light but accomplish next to nothing.” Powell wrote on X. “The whole system needs to be revamped! They are toothless and protect the institution instead of the citizens.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the USDA for comment.
