Phyllis Fong, the fired inspector general of the United States Department of Agriculture, was taken from her Washington, D.C. office on Monday after refusing to comply with the terms of her firing.
A 22-year-old veteran of the agency, which has a broad mandate to examine food safety and animal welfare, Fong’s office has been looking into Elon Musk’s brain implant business Neuralink, as well as the Boar’s Head listeria epidemic.
In 2022, the USDA opened a federal investigation into Neuralink for suspected animal-welfare breaches in response to internal staff allegations citing unnecessary pain and animal deaths during testing, according to Reuters.
The Trump administration fired Fong, one of 17 government watchdogs, on Friday, according to Reuters. Fong informed her colleagues via email that she planned to stay in her position, citing that the termination notifications did not meet legal standards and were therefore ineffective at the time.
She arrived at her workplace on Monday morning and was quickly led out of USDA headquarters by security, according to Reuters.
In a statement, the White House described Fong and other inspector generals as “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.”
