WASHINGTON – State Secretary Mike Pompeo has fired the State Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration official whose office is critical of alleged political bias in agency management. The dismissal is the latest in a series of steps against independent branch executive overseers who have found fault with the Trump administration.
A senior department official said Pompeo fired Steve Linick from his job Friday but gave no reason for his dismissal. Linick has been in charge of the job since 2013. His office has issued several critical reports on the handling of personnel issues by the department, including accusing several people appointed by President Donald Trump to take revenge on career officials.
Linick will be replaced by Stephen Akard, a former foreign service official who has close relations with Vice President Mike Pence, said the official, who is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and speak on condition of anonymity. Akard currently runs the Department of Foreign Affairs Office. He was nominated to be the director general of a foreign service but interesting after objections he was not experienced enough.
Linick, a former assistant US attorney in California and Virginia, has overseen inspector general reports that are highly critical of department management policies during the Trump administration. His office has criticized several people appointed by Trump for their treatment of career staff because they appear to be less supportive of Trump and his policies.
Under Linick, the State Department’s inspector general’s office also criticized the freeze of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and efforts to streamline the institution by cutting back funds and personnel.
Trump is currently aiming for inspector general.
In April, he fired Michael Atkinson, inspector general for the intelligence community, for his role in complaints that led to Trump’s impeachment.
Then Trump released Glenn Fine as acting acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, a move that disarmed his position as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
During a White House briefing on COVID-19, Trump questioned the independence of an inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services for a report that said there was a shortage of supplies and testing in hospitals.
