VOA NEWS - U.S. President Donald Trump has removed from office the intelligence community’s watchdog.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson informed Congress about the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment earlier this year.

Trump officially notified the intelligence committees of both houses of Congress on Friday that Atkinson’s firing would go into effect in 30 days.

He said in a letter that he “no longer” had “the fullest confidence” in Atkinson. Trump said he would name a replacement for Atkinson “at a later date.”

The move was immediately criticized by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

“At a time, when our country is dealing with a national emergency and needs people in the Intelligence Community to speak truth to power, the President’s dead of night decision puts our country and national security at even greater risk,” congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said in a statement.