Top Republican senator takes aim at President Trump — then seemingly compares him to Hillary Clinton

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the elder statesmen of the Senate, took aim at President Donald Trump in a tweet on Friday — and seemingly compared the president to Hillary Clinton.

"A little history/irony @realdonaldtrump Did u know Hillary Clinton didn't want an inspector general so she didn't have 1? Did u know it was a top priority for Kerry to get 1? That was Linick I found him 2b helpful when trying to get to bottom of email scandal Now he's gone!" Grassley said.

Indeed, as Grassley pointed out, the State Department was without an inspector general from Jan. 15, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2013 — which encompassed Clinton's complete tenure as secretary of state.

Grassley has ardently voiced his displeasure with Trump's decision to fire multiple inspectors general.

When Trump fired Steve Linick from his post as State Department inspector general last month, Democrats accused Trump of acting out of political retaliation. Grassley, however, voiced concern that Trump did not provide Congress with written justification for ousting Linick, which the president is required to do.

In fact, Trump has fired three inspectors general since April. In addition to Linick, Trump also fired Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson and Defense Department Inspector General Glenn Fine.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Grassley's frustrations boiled over this week, resulting in an announcement on Thursday that he would block Trump's nominations until the president explains why he fired the government watchdogs.

"All I want is a reason 4 firing these ppl," Grassley said. "CHECKS&BALANCES."

Grassley is not the only Republican senator who has openly criticized Trump for his swift dismissals of inspectors general.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called Trump's actions a "threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power."