President Trump called Sen. Mitt Romney a “loser” Monday after the Utah Republican criticized the president’s firing of government watchdogs.
The president posted one word — “Loser” — on Twitter with a montage of video clips reviewing Mr. Romney’s loss to President Barack Obama in 2012, and Mr. Trump’s victory in 2016.
Mr. Romney, the only Senate Republican to vote to convict the president in his impeachment trial, denounced Mr. Trump’s firings of inspectors general, calling it a “threat to accountable democracy.”
“The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose,” Mr. Romney tweeted. “It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power.”
Mr. Trump on Friday fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, saying he no longer had confidence in him. Congressional Democrats say they believe the firing is connected to Mr. Linick’s investigation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo into allegations that he improperly gave personal duties to a political appointee.
