The internal government watchdogs were believed to have been dismissed at several major agencies, though the Justice Department’s was not said to have been among them.

The conversations about ousting these government watchdogs began during Trump's transition back to the White House.

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

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration fired the independent inspectors general of at least 12 major federal agencies late on Friday, the Washington Post reported. The agencies include the departments of defense, state, transportation, veterans affairs, housing and urban development, interior, and energy, the newspaper said.