1440 - The United States Postal Service will lay off 10,000 people over the next month through a voluntary early retirement program and find ways to cut billions of dollars from its budget. The move is part of an agreement that seeks assistance from the Department of Government Efficiency.
Roll Call - “The damage this Administration is inflicting on the National Park Service cannot be overstated,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, the ranking member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations panel.
“Nearly 4 million people visited Acadia National Park in 2024 alone,” Pingree said. “Without adequate staffing — both seasonal and full-time — Acadia and national parks across the country will face serious consequences: strained tourism economies, weakened conservation efforts, and a diminished visitor experience that jeopardizes both safety and park maintenance.”
“I led my colleagues to sound the alarm about the totally preventable staffing shortfall at the National Park Service that will lead to shuttered visitor centers, dangerously slow emergency response times, dirty facilities, and even park closures — unless Trump and [Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon] Musk’s staffing cuts are reversed,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., ranking member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.
“These cuts not only threaten safe access to parks in the upcoming spring break and summer seasons but will also result in long-term damage to the NPS due to the firing of skilled positions like plumbers, engineers, ecologists, and firefighters,” Merkley said.
In a midnight massacre of oversight and accountability, President Donald Trump attempted to unlawfully fire several inspectors general, the independent watchdogs tasked with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies.
The move shows a disregard for the rule of law and could threaten crucial independent oversight of the federal government. Congress must step up to ensure that Trump follows the law and that the independence of inspectors general remains intact.
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For inspectors general to be effective watchdogs, they need to be confident they will only be removed because of serious wrongdoing, not for political reasons. Otherwise, they may be reticent to do their jobs: to fully investigate and make public corruption and abuse of power.
As Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote in a 2020 letter to Trump, “Congress intended that inspectors general only be removed when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing or failure to perform the duties of the office, and not for reasons unrelated to their performance, to help preserve IG independence.”
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