A group of House Democratic lawmakers is calling for the Government Accountability Office to investigate the impact of widespread vacancies in inspector general posts, warning in a letter that the shortage could undermine government oversight across major agencies.
In a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the lawmakers called on the GAO, which serves as a watchdog for the government on Congress’ behalf, to review how staffing gaps at agencies’ inspector general offices have affected efforts to detect fraud, waste and abuse. The letter was sent last week and was first shared with NOTUS.
More than 20 presidentially appointed IG positions remain vacant across the government after the Trump administration fired and demoted officials tasked with independent, nonpartisan oversight.
Democratic lawmakers warned that the absence of permanent leaders could slow audits and investigations, weaken morale in watchdog offices and ultimately reduce accountability at agencies ranging from the Treasury Department to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The letter was led by Rep. Suzan DelBene and signed by Reps. Terri Sewell, Robert Garcia, Suhas Subramanyam, Lateefah Simon, Stephen Lynch, Zoe Lofgren, Delia Ramirez and Jared Huffman.
Specifically, the lawmakers asked GAO to assess whether the removal or absence of IGs has delayed reports or investigations, canceled reviews, slowed efforts and ruined morale across agencies. They requested in the letter that the investigation findings be delivered in formal reports, testimonies or staff briefings to Congress.
“Maintaining a fully staffed group of IGs is key to ensuring the federal government implements congressional priorities effectively and efficiently,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are concerned that those vacancies could be negatively impacting the work being performed within the IG Community.”
When President Donald Trump assumed office in January, he fired 17 inspector generals, citing differences in politics as he vowed to reshape the federal government. Several of the fired IGs sued the Trump administration for the decision, arguing it was unlawful under the Inspector General Act.
The White House has repeatedly defended the decision for the firings, with Trump saying at the time, “It’s a very common thing to do.”