Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says he is holding up a confirmation vote on two nominees from the Trump administration until he gets an answer to his questions regarding why two inspectors general were fired.
Grassley tweeted his action Thursday on the nominations of Christopher Miller to be the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Marshall Billingslea to be the undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department.
Grassley posted on Twitter:
"Im placing holds on 2 Trump Admin noms until I get reasons 4firing 2 agency watchdogs as required by law Not 1st time I've raised alarm when admins flout IG protection law Obama did same& got same earfull from me All I want is a reason 4 firing these ppl CHECKS&BALANCES."
Grassley wants an "explanation" on the firing of intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson and "sufficient reasons" for the removal of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick, The Hill reported.
Grassley sent two letters to the White House last month requesting information about the dismissals, telling executive branch officials they needed a "good reason" to oust the IGs.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone told Grassley responded by saying President Donald Trump "acted within his constitutional and statutory authority."
"The White House Counsel's response failed to address this requirement, which Congress clearly stated in statute and accompanying reports," Grassley said at the time. "I don't dispute the president's authority under the Constitution, but without sufficient explanation, it's fair to question the president's rationale for removing an inspector general."
This is not the first time Grassley has blocked confirmation votes on nominees. Previously he placed a hold for nearly two years during the Obama administration on William Evanina's nomination director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
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