Fired inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Phyllis Fong was removed from her Washington D.C. office on Monday after refusing to comply with the conditions of her termination.
A 22-year-old veteran of the department—which has a broad mandate to investigate food safety and animal welfare—Fong’s office has been investigating Elon Musk’s brain implant startup Neuralink, among other investigations into the Boar’s Head’s listeria outbreak.
The USDA launched a federal investigation into Neuralink in 2022 for potential animal-welfare violations following internal staff complaints alleging the needless suffering and deaths of animals via testing, reported Reuters at the time.
On Friday, Fong was one of 17 federal watchdogs given their walking papers by the Trump administration, reported Reuters. However, Fong told her colleagues in an email that she intended to stay in her post, arguing that “these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
Phyllis K. Fong. / Tom Williams / Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag
She arrived at her office on Monday morning and was promptly escorted out of USDA headquarters by security, sources told Reuters.
In a statement, the White House called Fong and other inspector generals “rogue, partisan bureaucrats” who “have been relieved of their duties in order to make room for qualified individuals who will uphold the rule of law and protect Democracy.”
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