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By Casey Shea Marketing Director |
February 10, 2025
When the government falls short of serving the public’s interests, inspectors general (IGs) are there to act as safeguards against corruption, mismanagement, and inefficiency. These watchdogs play a vital role in ensuring the integrity and accountability of public institutions.
What Do Inspectors General Do?
Created under the Inspector General Act of 1978 in response to scandals like Watergate, inspectors general are independent, nonpartisan officials tasked with rooting out fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct within federal agencies. Originally there were 12 IGs, but today, more than 70 oversee agencies ranging from the Department of Defense to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Inspectors general have broad powers to:
- Conduct audits, investigations, and inspections
- Issue subpoenas for information and documents
- Report directly to Congress and agency heads on egregious issues
- Maintain hotlines for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing
Their primary mission is to promote efficiency and effectiveness and to prevent misconduct, contributing to good government and ensuring that agencies fulfill their duties responsibly and ethically.
Are Inspectors General Independent?
Yes. IGs are embedded within their agencies and are technically under the supervision of the head of the agency, but by law IGs are fully independent and are free to conduct audits and investigations without interference from the agency or the agency head.
Examples of Their Impact
Inspectors general have a history of exposing corruption, safeguarding taxpayer money, and holding officials accountable:
- The Flint Water Crisis: The EPA’s Office of Inspector General released reports detailing oversight lapses that worsened the water contamination crisis. It found that the EPA’s failure to act decisively—despite having evidence of lead contamination in 2015—exacerbated harm to Flint’s residents. In a crucial court case, Walters v. Flint, the IG's work was a crucial factor in what led the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to rule in favor of Flint residents.
- COVID-19 Relief Fraud: During the pandemic, IGs uncovered massive fraud in programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). An estimated $200 billion—around 17% of relief funds—went to fraudulent actors. IG investigations, working with agencies like the Secret Service, led to the recovery of nearly $30 billion in stolen funds.
- Reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan: Special inspectors general uncovered extensive fraud and waste in post-war reconstruction efforts. In Afghanistan, audits revealed the creation of “ghost soldiers,” where corrupt officials made up fake personnel in order to steal salary funds, costing taxpayers over $300 million annually. Similarly, audits of Iraq’s $60 billion reconstruction fund identified billions in misappropriated and squandered resources which led to 90 criminal convictions and several reforms that saved taxpayers nearly $645 million.
Are Inspectors Generals Under Threat?
On January 24, 2025, President Trump fired at least 12 inspectors general just days into his administration in a late Friday night purge, citing “changing priorities” as the reason.
These inspectors general had been in several high profile departments and agencies including Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Energy, the Environmental Protect Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration.
It’s not unheard of for a President to fire an inspector general, especially when there is documented misconduct, but the law requires that presidents give Congress 30 days’ notice before removing an inspector general as well as provide “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for the removal. And it’s long been the presidential norm that inspectors general remain in place as nonpartisan officials when a new president takes office.
Inspectors General are Pillars of Accountability within our Government
Their work exposes corruption, saves taxpayer money, and ensures that agencies serve the public good. To preserve the effectiveness of IGs, both citizens and lawmakers must ensure that there is transparency in dismissal decisions and that IGs’ independence is maintained and free from political pressure or retaliation.
Without IGs, the door to unchecked power and corruption swings wide open.