A fired bureaucrat was escorted out of her office this week after refusing to leave gracefully when President Donald Trump terminated her.
Security officers were forced to escort U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General Phyllis Fong, who has held that position since 2002, out of her office on January 27 after she refused to accept that she had been fired.
BREAKING: USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong was reportedly escorted out of her office by security after she refused to leave after President Trump fired her.
Bye bye 👋 pic.twitter.com/ZClXI38Zpr
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 29, 2025
Fong reportedly told her colleagues that she intended to stay in her position regardless of Trump’s decision, claiming that the president didn’t follow the proper protocols necessary to fire an inspector general.
Of course, like others in the Democrat Party, Fong appears to believe that the President of the United States — who literally controls the entire executive branch — does not have the power to fire his employees at will, which is patently absurd. If the duly elected president does not have power over the bureaucracy, the United States would no longer be a Constitutional Republic, as these unelected bureaucrats would have more power than the president.
Fong whined about Trump’s decision in an email and arrogantly vowed to stay in office, claiming that the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
Fong was one of 18 inspectors general that Trump fired last week, with a statement from the White House declaring that “these rogue, partisan bureaucrats… have been relieved of their duties in order to make room for qualified individuals who will uphold the rule of law and protect Democracy.”
This prompted outrage and backlash from both the bureaucracy and the Democrats — with some claiming that he did not follow protocol because he did not give Congress advanced notice, despite the fact that the U.S. is built on a separation of powers.
However, Republicans are backing Trump’s decision — with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who serves as both chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, defending Trump in a statement.
“Time and time again, the Supreme Court has said that Congress can’t impose restrictions on the president’s power to remove officers,” he said. “In President Trump’s first term, he removed the Director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau despite limitations on the President’s constitutional power to remove officers, that was litigated at the Supreme Court and the president won.”
“So ultimately, these inspectors general serve at the pleasure of the President,” Cotton added. “He wants new people in there. He wants people who focused on getting out waste and fraud and abuse and reforming these agencies, he has a right to have to get in there who he wants.”
When it comes to inspectors general, President Trump has right to get the people that he wants.
The Supreme Court has ruled Congress can't impose restrictions on the president's power to remove officers.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 27, 2025