Featured October 3, 2025 Navigating the government shutdown: Essential information you need to know Back to Blog President Trump’s firing of inspectors general threatens government accountability and efficiency Date October 21, 2025 Authors Chris Piper Tags Congress, Government Effectiveness Inspectors general are one of the central watchdogs of the federal government, identifying and stopping waste, fraud and abuse and saving taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year. Despite their intended independence and importance for government accountability and efficiency, inspectors general have come under fire during the second Trump administration, with extensive purges and vacancies weakening accountability and independent oversight of numerous federal agencies. Even as recently as last week, President Trump fired Parisa Salehi, the inspector general of the Export-Import Bank, without providing proper notice to Congress. The facts are alarming: President Donald Trump broke historic norms by firing 17 presidentially appointed inspectors general. Trump’s firings, additional resignations and preexisting vacancies carried over from the Biden administration have resulted in over 75% of presidentially appointed inspector general positions sitting vacant. The White House has unilaterally blocked funds appropriated by Congress to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an umbrella office that supports the inspector general community. The office’s website, which housed inspector general reports, recommendations for how the government can save money, and a whistleblower hotline, has been made unavailable due to a lack of funding. Inspectors general serve as internal government cops and auditors The Inspector General Act of 1978, one of the most significant post-Watergate reforms, and subsequent amendments to the law, established nonpartisan, independent offices in 74 departments, large agencies, boards, commissions and other federal entities to combat waste, fraud and abuse. President Jimmy Carter, who signed the bill into law, stated that inspector generals were a “powerful new tool for the discovery, the prevention, and the elimination of fraud.” Of the 74 statutory inspector general positions, 37 are presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed, 36 are agency or entity appointed and one is presidentially appointed without Senate confirmation. Although every inspector general office has unique priorities related to its agency, common functions intended to safeguard and improve agency performance include: Conducting audits and investigations Providing recommendations to agencies on how to improve operations Preventing and detecting fraud and abuse in programs and operations Providing a means for keeping the head of the agency and Congress fully informed about problems and deficiencies related to program administration and operations, and the need for corrective action and progress achieved on making those corrections By performing these functions, inspectors general serve as “an internal cop and an internal auditor,” according to A. Sprightley Ryan, former inspector general for the Smithsonian Institution. The function of auditing is well understood and appreciated in the private sector, where it serves as an important mechanism for ensuring transparency, accountability and financial integrity. Trump’s firing of inspectors general broke historic norms Typically, inspectors general serve across administrations regardless of when or by which president they were appointed. At the beginning of his second administration, Trump fired 16 of the 26 presidentially appointed inspectors general that carried over from the Biden administration. Last week, Trump continued the firings, removing the Inspector General of the Export-Import Bank. Of those fired, one was appointed by President George W. Bush, two were appointed by President Barack Obama, six were appointed by Trump during his first term and eight were appointed by President Joe Biden. Trump’s firings broke historical norms of presidents allowing inspectors general to continue in their roles following presidential transitions. President Ronald Reagan fired 15 permanent and acting inspectors general at the beginning of his administration in 1981. This move raised bipartisan concerns in Congress about the politicization and potential undermining of the inspectors general. Reagan ultimately renominated five of the fired inspectors general. Since the Obama administration there have only been four instances of a president acting to remove a presidentially appointed inspector general and only one occurred within the first year of a new administration. In addition to breaking norms, Trump’s removal of inspectors general was ruled illegal. Federal law requires that presidents provide Congress with advance notice and a substantive rationale prior to removing an inspector general. Trump did not provide Congress with the necessary notice or rationale, but a federal court did not order reinstatement of the fired inspectors general. Many inspectors general positions are vacant without nominees Despite entering office with nearly 70% of presidentially appointed inspector general positions filled, now, due to removals and resignations, over three quarters of positions are vacant. While most vacancies began under the current administration, the average vacancy length is 477 days. Five positions have been vacant for over two years. The Treasury Department has the longest vacancy, with no confirmed occupant since 2019. Despite the high number of vacancies, the president has been slow in making nominations to fill these positions. As of Oct. 17, only five of the 28 vacant Senate-confirmed positions have a pending nomination. It’s time for Congress to step up Every year, inspector general offices identify tens of billions of dollars in governmental waste, fraud and abuse. In fiscal year 2024 alone, inspectors general saved the government over $70 billion. The Trump administration’s firing of inspectors general and defunding of CIGIE, the umbrella organization, runs counter to Trump’s stated desire to make the federal government more efficient. Congress should step in and play a critical oversight role, as they have done with past presidents, to ensure the best interests of the public and the goal of accountable, transparent and effective government are kept front and center. Additionally, Trump should nominate qualified, independent individuals to fill these critical roles. Chris Piper leads the Center for Presidential Transition’s work on transition related process reforms and reducing the number of Senate confirmed positions.
