U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and a ranking member requested President Donald Trump detail his decision to fire inspectors general from 18 offices who serve as “watchdogs” for federal agencies.
In a letter sent to Trump Monday, Grassley and the committee’s ranking member, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, urged the president to immediately provide his rationale for firing the 18 inspectors general, which is lawfully required.
The letter also requested Trump share the names of each official who will serve in an acting capacity and “quickly nominate qualified and nonpartisan individuals to permanently fill the current [inspectors general] vacancies.”
The senators underscored a law requiring the president to provide a written, detailed communication informing Congress of the decision to dismiss or transfer an inspector general at least 30 days before action is taken.
“While [inspectors general] aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed,” the letter said. “The communication to Congress must contain more than just broad and vague statements; rather, it must include sufficient facts and details to assure Congress and the public that the termination is due to real concerns about the Inspector General’s ability to carry on their mission.”
Trump fired the inspectors general in multiple departments including State, Defense, Transportation, Labor, and Health and Human Services among others.
Inspectors general are nonpartisan watchdogs responsible for identifying and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies, according to the letter.
Iowa lawmakers advance bill prohibiting disciplinary action for school employees using legal names of students
Legislation prohibiting disciplinary action against school employees or students for using the legal names of students or failure to use personal pronouns was advanced by a panel of Iowa lawmakers Monday.
Under House File 80, school districts and charter schools would not be able to take disciplinary action against employees, contractors, or students for the use of legal names, the use of student names as listed in school registration forms or records, or for the failure to use personal pronouns in official communications.
Keenan Crow, the director of policy and advocacy at One Iowa, said the legislation contradicts with the Iowa legislature’s “parent first” policy.
Crow pointed to a law passed in 2023 that requires parents and transgender students to send a signed form indicating how they would like faculty and staff to address their child. Crow called for consistency within the legislation.
“We were told at that time that this was about parents’ rights and their right to control what their student is called during the school day,” Crow said. “Now, apparently, we don’t care about parents’ rights or what they want their student to be called.”
Students spoke out against the bill, talking on their personal experiences being misgendered in school.
JD Wilson, 9, said the bill is wrong because it can hurt kids mentally, physically, and force them into hiding.
JD spoke on their personal experience coming out and how hurt they felt when people misgendered them. They said the bill allows kids to be bullied, and if it is made into a law, it will hurt kids.
“This bill can hurt a lot of kids,” JD said. “I have been misgendered. I wanted to die when it happened to me. I also got misnamed. I wanted to run home and die. This is why I do not like this bill.”
Valley Southwoods High School freshman Barry Stevens, 14, said using a person’s preferred pronouns is a basic respect, and the legislation enables adults and students to dehumanize others.
When Barry was in sixth grade, they decided to transition to different pronouns and a different name, Barry said to the panel of lawmakers.
“Since then, I have had kids constantly use my own name as a weapon against me,” they said.
Barry said it should not be acceptable for professionally trained adults meant to protect students to be able to intentionally cause harm.
“If you pass this bill, you are actively supporting demeaning and degrading behavior towards me,” they said. “I deserve to feel safe at school, and this bill actively endangers my health and safety.”
Professional Educators of Iowa registered in favor of the bill. Nathan Arnold, director of legal services for the organization, said the legislation will help teachers navigate a complex legal landscape. Arnold said the bill would provide a “safe haven” for teachers and provide “black and white” guidelines to adhere to.
“It helps teachers who basically can’t keep up because of concepts such as gender fluidity,” Arnold said. “The second, of course, is teachers who are conscientious objectors and want to use the name that the student has been given.”
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Rep. Helena Hayes, R-New Sharon, and Rep. Henry Stone, R-Forest City, voted in favor of the bill, and Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, opposed the legislation.
Matson said she would fight the bill every step of the way.
Iowa lawmakers advance legislation to make a statewide school threat assessment task force
Under House Study Bill 47, schools would be required to create threat assessment teams and authorize information sharing between certain governmental agencies. The bill was advanced by a panel of Iowa lawmakers on Tuesday.
The bill would require schools to share records and information of K-12 students “who are experiencing or are at risk of an emotional disturbance or mental illness” or “pose an articulable and significant threat to the health and safety of any person.”
Public schools would be authorized to create a multidisciplinary threat assessment team. The team would be required to intervene when a student exhibits “behavior that may pose a threat to the safety of the school, school employees, or other students enrolled in the school.”
Opponents of the bill said it would violate federal student privacy laws as well as discriminate against students with mental illnesses.
Lisa Davis-Cook, director of government affairs for the Iowa Association for Justice, questioned how the bill would be enforced while still complying with FERPA, and the organization is concerned about protecting students’ confidentiality.
Davis-Cook also said having a mental illness does not make a student a threat, and the term is too broad and could be interpreted in different ways.
Iowa Rep. Henry Stone, R-Forest City, and chair of the panel of lawmakers, said the legislation needs some tweaks and guardrails and requires further conversation. Stone and the other members of the subcommittee, Rep. Chad Behn, R-Boone, and Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, recommended passage of the bill.
“In light of what happened to Perry, this is something that we need to take seriously, and we need to institute these procedures,” Stone said, referring to the fatal shooting on Jan. 4, 2024, in Perry, Iowa.