Cummings and Engle Want to Know If State Dept. Targeted Obama-Era Staff

Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee, and Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the State Department's Inspector General on Friday asking them to look into allegations that certain employees were unlawfully targeted for political reasons for their work under the last administration, CNN reports. "Our staffs have been made aware of credible allegations that the State Department has required high-level career civil servants, with distinguished records, serving administrations of both parties, to move to performing tasks outside their area of substantive expertise. ... At the very least, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars. At worst it may constitute impermissible abuse and retaliation," the lawmakers wrote. Read more here.