USDA Responds to Report That Official Was Escorted From Office After Trump Firing

The former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was reportedly escorted out of her office Monday after she “refused to comply” with her termination – though the USDA denies that she was forcibly removed.

Phyllis Fong, who has worked for the USDA for 22 years, was fired on Friday, but she reportedly told her colleagues that she planned to continue working. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Fong was removed by security officials and “refused to comply” with her termination.

Before her firing, the government employee said she believed that the newly inaugurated Trump administration was acting improperly by terminating officials so suddenly.

In an email obtained by Reuters, Fong said the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) had “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.”

The USDA, however, denied that security officials were involved in the incident in an email to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night. (Read more from “USDA Responds to Report That Official Was Escorted From Office After Trump Firing” HERE)

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