Why Inspectors General Are Essential for Good Governance
Three reasons why governments should have politically unbiased inspectors providing accountability.
By Dr. Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen
If President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are serious about making the U.S. government more efficient, then Trump needs to reinstate the dozen-plus independent inspectors general who were recently fired from his administration. These independent inspectors were tasked with uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse, and they did it irrespective of White House partisanship and party control.
Not only did the firings break the law but this move also goes against what Americans say they want. Americans overwhelmingly want a more efficient government — a reality made possible with independent and apolitical inspectors general in each department, versus loyalists disinclined to blow the whistle on their boss.
For background, inspectors general have been around for almost 50 years. They were created when President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Inspector General Act of 1978. Carter described the role of inspectors general then as “perhaps the most important new tools in the fight against fraud.” He’s right. With direct access to all department records and agency heads, inspectors general can conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, and hire and control their own staff. It’s their independence that makes them so effective.
Currently, there are more than 70 inspector general offices across the federal government. And while a U.S. president is, in fact, allowed to fire an inspector general, terminations have to be communicated to Congress 30 days in advance. Congress strengthened the law recently, requiring any White House to provide detailed reasoning for a firing.
Before Trump places loyalists in these positions, as he did with his cabinet appointees, we must protect the integrity and independence of these inspectors. There are three reasons why we need politically unbiased inspectors who are emboldened in their task of keeping the U.S. government accountable.
1: An independent inspector general is essential in identifying and recovering misspent U.S. taxpayer dollars
These watchdogs are working on Americans’ behalf. In the most recent annual report by the Council of the Inspectors General, which represents the 70-plus inspector general offices across the federal government, more than $90 billion was identified in potential savings as part of its annual audit. If and when Congress acts on those recommendations, that’s a return of $26 for every $1 spent on the inspectors general.
Beyond their recommendations for savings, over the last 10 years inspectors general have been able to claw back more than $140 billion in receivables and recoveries through criminal and civil cases. At the departmental level, the returns from investigations can be substantial. A recent report from the inspector general’s office in the Department of Health and Human Services cited almost $4 billion in investigative receivables.
In addition to the permanent inspectors within federal departments, so-called special inspectors can also provide an immediate and targeted review of a government operation. The special inspector general for pandemic recovery, for example, spearheaded 42 indictments and 33 arrests and recovered more than $60 million. The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, as another example, identified nearly “$2 billion in financial benefits, including nearly $645 million in direct savings and more than $192 million in court-ordered recoveries.” There are many examples like this, all across the federal government.
2: Government accountability — and the act of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse — is historically very bipartisan
There’s a history of bipartisan efforts in Congress to minimize unnecessary federal spending, identify poorly planned and poorly executed programming, and claw back on behalf of the taxpayer wasted dollars by government departments and private industry consultants.
That bipartisanship was on full display shortly before Trump was inaugurated. A week before Trump’s firings in January, a bipartisan Inspector General Caucus was launched in Congress to support inspectors in their effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. And immediately after Trump’s firings, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee submitted a bipartisan letter to the White House demanding an explanation.
U.S. polling by Gallup further backs up this bipartisanship in Congress, showing how both Republican and Democratic voters want the U.S. government to be more accountable. There’s bipartisan support for this work, to be clear.
3: Accountability is an essential next step in rebuilding Americans’ trust in government
Trust in national government in the U.S. is at historically low levels. Any effort to reduce federal inefficiencies and waste will be essential in restoring American voters’ faith in the system. Having a set of independent watchdogs helps ensure that every politician legitimately walks the campaign talk when elected to office.
Yet Trump’s government efficiency campaign promise can’t be taken seriously when firing the very independent watchdogs hired to help recover taxpayer dollars, improve efficiencies, reduce redundancies, and zero out waste, fraud, and abuse. Without independent inspectors, we can expect more misspent taxpayer dollars and, as a result, more mistrust.
Going forward, what’s clear here is that independent inspectors general are essential to every aspect of a healthy American democracy. To remove them not only reduces citizens’ trust in government but allows waste, fraud, and abuse to continue unchecked. It’s time to reinstate the watchdogs. American taxpayers want it, our democracy demands it, and our trust depends on it.
Steve Cohen is the U.S. representative for Tennessee’s 9th congressional district. Michael Shank is adjunct professor at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs and visiting scholar at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. This article first ran in Fast Company.
