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Democrats demanded on Saturday that the White House hand over all records related to President Donald Trump's latest firing of a federal watchdog, this time at the State Department. They also suggested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was responsible, in what 鈥渕ay be an illegal act of retaliation.鈥�

"We unalterably oppose the politically-motivated firing of inspectors general and the President's gutting of these critical positions," the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote in a letter to the administration announcing their investigation.

Mr. Trump announced late Friday that he was firing the inspector general, Steve Linick, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of what it saw as political bias in the State Department's management. The ouster was one more move by the president against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with his administration.

New York Rep. Eliot Engel and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez sent letters to the White House, the State Department, and the inspector general鈥檚 office asking that administration officials preserve all records related to Mr.聽Linick鈥檚 dismissal and provide them to the committees by this coming Friday. They promised to 鈥渓ook deeply into this matter" and said they would seek to interview White House officials. They said they 鈥渢rust that the White House will cooperate fully with our investigation."

A senior department official said Mr.聽Trump removed Mr.聽Linick from his job on Friday but gave no reason for the action. In a letter to Congress, Mr.聽Trump said Mr.聽Linick, who had held the job since 2013, no longer had his full confidence and that his removal would take effect in 30 days. Mr.聽Trump did not mention Mr.聽Linick by name in his letter.

Democrats soon cried foul. Mr.聽Engel suggested Mr.聽Linick was fired in part in retaliation for opening an unspecified investigation into Mr.聽Pompeo.

Mr.聽Engel offered no details. Two congressional aides said it involved allegations that Mr.聽Pompeo may have improperly treated staff. Mr.聽Linick鈥檚 office has issued several reports critical of the department鈥檚 handling of personnel matters during the Trump administration, including accusing some political appointees of retaliating against career officials.

Mr.聽Engel and Mr.聽Menendez said it was 鈥漷heir understanding" that Mr.聽Pompeo recommended that Mr.聽Linick be fired because the watchdog was investigating 鈥渨rongdoing鈥� by the Cabinet officer. They gave no specifics, but said such a move 鈥渕ay be an illegal act of retaliation.鈥�

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Mr.聽Linick was 鈥減unished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security.鈥� She said Mr.聽Trump 鈥漨ust cease his pattern of reprisal and retaliation against the public servants who are working to keep Americans safe, particularly during this time of global emergency.鈥�

Mr.聽Linick, whose office also took issue with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she served as America's top diplomat, played a minor role in the Ukraine impeachment investigation into Mr.聽Trump.

In October, Linick turned over documents to House investigators that he had received from State Department Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a close Pompeo associate, which contained information from debunked conspiracy theories about Ukraine鈥檚 role in the 2016 election.

In the Senate, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa on Saturday defended the role of the inspector general in the federal government and noted that Congress requires written reasons to justify removal. "A general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress,鈥� Mr.聽Grassley said in a statement that did not mention Mr.聽Trump or Mr.聽Pompeo.

On Twitter, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah wrote Saturday: 鈥淭he firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose. It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power.鈥�

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, cited both the president and a possible investigation of the secretary of state in his broadside against the firing. 鈥淚 hope Republicans will join us in standing up for taxpayers and getting to the bottom of this. There must be a bipartisan commitment to upholding our system of checks and balances and ensuring accountability and oversight at the highest levels,鈥� Mr.聽Reed said in a statement.

Mr.聽Linick will replaced by Stephen Akard, a former career foreign service officer who has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Mr.聽Akard currently runs the department's Office of Foreign Missions. He had been nominated to be the director general of the foreign service but withdrew after objections he wasn't experienced enough.

The lawmakers' request for information from the White House includes any evaluations of Mr.聽Linick's job performance and any assessment of Mr.聽Akard's job qualifications.

Mr.聽Linick, a former assistant U.S. attorney in California and Virginia, had overseen inspector general reports that were highly critical of the department's management policies during the Trump administration. His office had criticized several Trump appointees for their treatment of career staff for apparently being insufficiently supportive of Trump and his policies.

Under Mr.聽Linick, the State Department's inspector general office was also critical of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's hiring freeze and attempts to streamline the agency by slashing its funding and personnel.

Mr.聽Trump has been taking aim lately at inspectors general.

In April, he fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community, for his role in the whistleblower complaint that led to Mr.聽Trump鈥檚 impeachment.

Then Mr.聽Trump removed Glenn Fine as acting inspector general at the Defense Department. The move stripped him of his post as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which is among those overseeing the vast economic relief law pass in response to the coronavirus.

During a White House briefing on COVID-19, Mr.聽Trump questioned the independence of an inspector general of the聽Department of Health and Human Services聽over a report that said there was a shortage of supplies and testing at hospitals. Mr.聽Trump has since moved to replace the HHS official, Christi A. Grimm. She is a career person who has held the position in an acting capacity, but now Mr.聽Trump has nominated a permanent replacement.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

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