Trump's firings of the Senate-confirmed inspectors general included officials at Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, and EPA among others.

President Donald Trump fired the inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies in a Friday night purge, according to a Trump administration official, paving the way for him to install his own picks for the independent watchdog roles.

The White House defied a law that requires giving Congress 30 days’ notice and detailed reasons before removing the watchdog officials.

The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector general.

Lawmakers in both parties expressed concern that the White House might have circumvented federal rules in dismissing government watchdogs.

"The American people, if we don't have good and independent inspector generals, are going to see the swamp refill," Schiff said.

Several key U.S. Senate Republicans on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to fire independent government watchdogs across at least 17 federal agencies, even though the move ran afoul of federal law.