During his first week in office, President Trump dismissed over a dozen inspectors general from various departments, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs.
On Wednesday, eight of the terminated inspectors general filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump’s administration, claiming their dismissals were “unlawful and unjustified.” The lawsuit names inspectors general from the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Education.
According to court documents submitted in the district court of Washington, D.C., these inspectors general oversee the management of more than $5 trillion in appropriated funds every year and represent over 3.5 million federal employees.
But what does it mean to be an inspector general, and what are their responsibilities?
What is an inspector general?
On October 12, 1978, Congress enacted the Inspector General Act, which established twelve Federal Offices of Inspector General aimed at identifying fraud and waste, while providing impartial recommendations within government agencies. Presently, there are more than 70 statutory inspectors general, appointed either by the president or by heads of agencies.
These individuals serve as non-partisan public servants throughout both Democratic and Republican administrations. Most federal agencies — including the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Education, as well as other federal organizations like Amtrak, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Smithsonian Institution — have their own Office of Inspector General, or OIG.
The Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, a separate entity within the executive branch, aims to enhance professionalism among OIGs and keeps an updated directory of them, indicating any that are currently vacant.
Inspectors general are required to perform independent and objective audits, investigations, and inspections, as stated by the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. The Inspector General Act compels inspectors general to probe and audit program activities conducted by their organizations, ensuring that funds are used appropriately, promoting efficiency, and preventing “fraud and abuse in the programs administered by each agency.”
Although inspectors general operate under the general oversight of their agencies, they are protected by law and cannot be obstructed in their audits or investigations. They report any allegations of misconduct within their offices to the integrity committee of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, as well as to their agency head and Congress.
How is an inspector general appointed, and can they be dismissed?
Federal inspectors general are appointed either by the president or by the heads of their respective agencies. All inspectors general for Cabinet-level departments and agencies are nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. This includes departments such as Defense, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development.
Agencies that are not Cabinet-level, like the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the United States Postal Service, can appoint their own inspectors general.
The Inspector General Act states that these positions should be filled without regard to political affiliation and based exclusively on integrity and proven capability in areas like accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.
A federal law enacted in 2022 stipulates that the president must inform Congress 30 days prior to removing an inspector general, along with a requirement for a “substantive rationale, including detailed and specific reasons.”
This law also provides that a “first assistant” will automatically take over the role of an inspector general if a vacancy occurs, and the president must explain reasons for not formally nominating someone to fill a vacant position within a designated timeframe.
What does an inspector general do?
Inspectors general serve as independent watchdogs within their respective agencies.
They investigate cases of fraud, abuse, and other complaints, subsequently publishing public reports regarding their findings. For instance, Paul Martin, a former inspector general for USAID, released a report detailing how funding cuts from the Trump administration put nearly $500 million in food aid at risk of spoilage while it languished at ports, ships, and warehouses.
He was dismissed the day after this report was made public.
In court documents, fired Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal noted that he investigated reports of unexplained deaths at a VA medical facility in West Virginia, identifying a nursing assistant who later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder.
According to Larry Turner, the inspector general for the Department of Labor, his oversight of the unemployment insurance fraud program revealed an estimated $191 billion had been fraudulently obtained from pandemic funding allocated by Congress for the department.
