Senators criticize the empty top offices at watchdog agencies – By Jessie Bur (Federal Times) / June 18 2019
Over a quarter of presidentially appointed inspector general positions at federal agencies remain empty, with a majority of those offices lacking even a nominee for the Senate to consider.
The issue has brought Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa together to call on President Donald Trump to address the problem.
The two sent a letter to Trump June 17 warning that, without permanent leadership, “IG offices are less able to fulfill their statutory mandate to promote economical, efficient and effective administration and operation of the government.”
Inspectors general investigate, audit and hold accountable their respective agencies and are considered crucial tools for stopping waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
Of the 72 statutory IGs in the federal government, 35 require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, according to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency website.
“Currently, eight agencies await a presidentially nominated, Senate-confirmed watchdog: the Export-Import Bank, Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Personnel Management, Tennessee Valley Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Defense,” the letter said.
“The absence of an IG at the Defense Department is of particular concern due to the large budgets, personnel, contracts, and equipment it commands. As of the date of this writing, the Defense IG position has been vacant for 1,255 days, but there has yet to be a candidate nominated for Senate consideration.”
In total, Trump has made 16 nominations during his tenure to address the 16 total vacancies at federal IGs that have occurred since his inauguration: six were confirmed by the Senate, five were withdrawn from consideration, three were returned to the President after the 115th Congress ended in January 2019, and two are still under consideration.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission all have yet to see a single nominee since Trump took office.
The remaining 19 IG offices requiring nomination and Senate approval were filled prior to the Trump administration.
Statistically, Trump has been slower than many of his predecessors to nominate officials to lead or hold important positions in various agencies and has instead relied heavily on acting personnel that do not require Senate approval.
Republicans and Trump himself have largely blamed this reliance on acting officials on Democratic opposition to Trump nominees, while Democrats argue that Trump is skirting the Senate’s authority to provide advice and consent on the president’s selection of officials.
“Ultimately, instituting permanent leadership in IG offices is paramount to making any potential cost savings and oversight efforts a reality. Toward that end, we respectfully request that you move expeditiously to nominate permanent IGs, and we stand ready to encourage our respective leadership to make IG confirmations a priority and will oppose efforts to needlessly delay the confirmation of qualified candidates,” Hassan and Grassley wrote.
Many agency offices responsible for holding the federal government accountable are missing permanent leadership officials. (DNY59/Getty Images)
