U.S. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. (Photo: CGTN)

U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday fired a government watchdog who had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a senior Democratic lawmaker said. 

The State Department confirmed the late-night dismissal of Inspector General Steve Linick, who House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Eliot Engel said had started a probe into Washington's top diplomat.