President Donald Trump’s recent termination of multiple inspectors general is extremely disheartening. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, tweeted that firing them without good cause “chills the independence essential to their purpose.” I agree, and thank the good senator for continuing to stand for what’s right.
President William Howard Taft once said, ”We are all imperfect. We cannot expect perfect government.” This is why inspectors general are needed to maintain accountability at all levels of government and root out corruption. Morality should never take a back seat to political expediency.
Good government is a government that’s accountable to the people, and it’s something all elected officials should strive for. The alternative, a woefully unaccountable government, is a complete usurpation of the democratic principles upon which our constitutional republic is based. This should be concerning to all.
Ryan Curtis
Salt Lake City
President Donald Trump is being criticized by opponents after firing State Department Inspector General Steve Linick Friday night. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called it a “threat to accountable democracy.” Yet, Mitt Romney and Democrats said nothing as President Barack Obama didn’t nominate anyone and left the inspector general position empty at the State Department for his entire first term. Where was Mitt then?
In fact, the position was left vacant for nearly four years. The last inspector general was under President George W. Bush: Howard J. Krongard, who resigned in December 2007. And following Krongard, the position went vacant for nearly six years until September 2013. Imagine, nothing from Mitt then and little public outcry or media criticism about the vacancy at the time. What changed? Was it Mitt’s intense personal dislike of President Donald Trump? Is this what we expect from our senators?
Mark Generales
Fort Myers, Florida