Democrats on Capitol Hill overseeing the Defense Department issued scathing rebukes Tuesday of President Donald Trump's decision to remove a Pentagon inspector general overseeing the government's $2 trillion response to the spread of the coronavirus and replace him with another official considered more friendly to the White House.

"This is a major problem I'm very concerned about on a whole series of levels," Rep. Adam Smith, the chairman of the influential House Armed Services Committee, told reporters Tuesday afternoon. The Democrat from Washington state claimed this latest action represents a broader pattern of the president's seeking "sycophants" and "people who are loyal to him and will praise him first and foremost."

Smith said Trump has opposed information contrary to the White House's own narratives regarding the pandemic response.

"This is leading to an epidemic of incompetence throughout the government," Smith said. "What he cares about is people kissing his ass. If the job gets done? That's secondary."

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Smith's comments came shortly after news reports, first made by Politico , that Trump intervened in the decision by a panel of inspectors general to name Glenn Fine, the acting chief watchdog for the Pentagon, to lead the congressionally appointed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. The group was formed through the historically expensive legislation known as the CARES Act that Congress passed last month to identify and prevent potential waste, fraud and abuse in the subsequent spending.

Trump instead removed Fine from his post and named the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency to take over for the position, effectively firing a watchdog from a job that should remain outside the control of the executive branch. The new pandemic response law requires the position be filled by an existing inspector general. Sean O'Donnell, the current EPA inspector general and a Justice Department veteran, will take over for Fine.

Glenn Fine Carolyn Kaster/AP

A Pentagon spokeswoman told Politico that Fine would return to his Senate-confirmed position as the No. 2 inspector general at the Pentagon.

Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the latest decision as part of an "alarming trend" by the president.

"The Trump administration seems to be engaged in a mass-culling of government watchdogs, which is a real threat to independent oversight," the Rhode Island Democrat said in a statement. "I was notified of this move without explanation and will join colleagues on both sides of the aisle in seeking one."

The offices of Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, the senior Republicans on the Armed Services committees, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tuesday's news follows a series of other interventions by the White House that have faced criticism, including amid the outbreak of coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19.

Trump attacked the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general earlier Tuesday after her office identified widespread delays in testing for the virus and issues regarding medical supplies at hospitals nationwide. Christi Grimm, the HHS inspector general, has served in federal watchdog roles since 1999.