John,

In the first days of President Trump’s second term, he unlawfully fired 17 inspectors general en masse. Since then, 10 more IGs were fired or resigned and the OMB cut off and later constrained funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

Because of that and Trump dragging his feet on filling IG positions, 55% of the 38 presidentially-appointed federal IG positions were vacant at the end of 2025.

John, these are key offices within the executive branch, charged with preventing waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement of federal programs. And now, they are without Senate-confirmed leaders.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has engaged in unprecedented actions that in many cases appear to violate federal law—actions that IGs would and should investigate on behalf of American taxpayers.

By keeping inspector general positions vacant, the president is sending a clear message to our country: transparency, accountability and federal oversight are not priorities of this administration.

That’s why CREW is committed to fighting for strong oversight of this administration and to hold them accountable when we uncover their violations of the law or abuses of power. Help us keep fighting by powering our work with a donation today →

While Trump claimed that he would prioritize government efficiency, his efforts to fill IG vacancies tell a different story.

In 2025, he only sent nine nominees to the Senate. At its height, there were 39 vacancies during the course of the last year. At least four of those he nominated presented serious questions as to their qualifications, partisanship or ability to impartially serve due to connections with the head of the agency for which they are nominated.

Chris Fox, for example, was confirmed as the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) in October. He previously served as a senior advisor to the agency head he is now tasked with auditing: the scandal-plagued Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

In April 2025, Gabbard claimed that her team was focused on electronic voting systems. Now, just weeks ago, she was seen at the raid of the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center, at which the FBI seized Georgia ballots from the 2020 elections.

As members of Congress and the public rightly question whether the DNI is overstepping her role to relitigate the president’s long-debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections, the ICIG should be conducting robust independent oversight of DNI Gabbard’s curious actions in Georgia.

If the ICIG has a potential conflict of interest, he and his team should step aside and another IG office with the proper security clearance should take over the review.

This is especially important because last year, Gabbard fired a key ICIG lawyer and “appointed a senior adviser within the office who reported directly to her”—a move that potentially violated the law.

John, that’s just one example of a concerning void in an IG office and the role they could—and should play.

Other ongoing IG vacancies, including at the National Security Agency and the Department of State, are particularly concerning given the United States’ new military involvement overseas in Venezuela.

Inspectors general are critical to rooting out corruption, targeting government inefficiency and preventing wasteful spending. Nevertheless, despite clear bipartisan support from Congress for these offices, Trump continues to attack and hamper IG offices.

While Donald Trump fights to avoid accountability, CREW is committed to building a transparent, accountable and ethical government. We’re working to hold Trump and his administration accountable and ensure our government has the resources to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Help us keep up this work by donating to support CREW →

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