Congress
Fears are growing that Trump could push out dozens of government watchdogs
Two in-house investigators at U.S. intelligence agencies recently quit their jobs. There’s growing fear in Washington that they could be the start of an exodus — or a purge — of government watchdogs.
A wave of departures by inspectors general would give President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate or appoint people of his choice to the watchdog posts — leaving dozens of federal departments, agencies and offices subject to oversight by people who would owe their positions to Trump.
In the wake of Trump’s election, CIA Inspector General Robin Ashton and Intelligence Community Inspector General Thomas Monheim revealed they plan to leave government in the coming weeks. Neither cited Trump’s victory as a basis for the decision, but the timing of the announcements troubled some longtime advocates for IGs.
“I’m very disappointed that the two IGs have resigned,” said former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich. “My view is that when things get tough, IGs should not resign, but instead redouble their efforts to do their jobs. Doing a tough job in difficult circumstances is what they bargained for. I think preemptively resigning makes things too easy for the incoming administration to avoid oversight. To prematurely run for the exits, in my view, that is not the way to handle the responsibility.”
Trump frequently clashed in his first term with some IGs, who are responsible for investigating alleged misconduct by the government, and his team briefly floated a plan to call on all of them to resign, though Trump never did. This time around, Trump allies have urged the president-elect to clean house and remove from their positions all watchdogs appointed by other presidents, though it’s unclear if Trump will do so.
“I really hope that people that have a backbone don’t resign,” said Kathryn Newcomer, a professor of public policy at George Washington University and co-author of a book on IGs. “That’s very worrisome.”
Spokespeople for Ashton and Monheim did not respond directly to questions about whether Trump’s return played any role in their decisions to resign, which were first reported by the Project on Government Oversight. Both departing officials have spent decades in the federal government. But critics say the outgoing IGs should’ve announced their departures sooner and given the Biden administration the chance to nominate and confirm replacements.
Trump allies have called to replace all IGs
More than 70 inspectors general serve in posts at agencies across the federal government, tasked with ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse, and investigating alleged misconduct. They generate thousands of reports each year and claim to have identified hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings.
Inspectors general “drive efficiency and effectiveness,” said Diana Shaw, a former acting IG at the State Department. “If you don’t have IGs, nobody is minding the store.”
Some Trump allies have urged the president-elect to install his own appointees in the watchdog posts — about half of which are subject to Senate confirmation. About 10 of the posts are currently filled by officials installed or confirmed during Trump’s first term. Another 10 are vacant.
People involved in drafting the conservative Heritage Foundation blueprint Project 2025 have advocated for wholesale replacement of inspectors general and suggested they could be viewed as part of the “deep state” Trump has crusaded against.
“In a new administration, would you rather have some fresh eyes on programs or Miss IG Debbie DC, who’s been around for half a decade, and is up to the same old stuff,” Heritage Oversight Project Director Mike Howell said in a training video obtained by ProPublica and Documented. “Fresh eyes, fresh administration, makes for better oversight, and, you know, better political management of the bureaucracy.”
But other conservative activists oppose a major overhaul of the IG ranks, arguing that many key revelations about waste and corruption in government have come from IG reports and that treating the jobs as typical political posts would undercut the credibility of their work.
“It seems more likely that there may be a demand for IG resignations or outright firings this time around, but if … going forward all IGs are merely political appointees, then what’s the purpose of having IGs? It’s a fig leaf at that point with no real independence,” said Jason Foster, founder of the whistleblower group Empower Oversight. “The value of IG objectivity would be destroyed, and their offices would just be a duplicate bureaucracy that should probably be replaced by better and more effective legislative branch-controlled oversight agencies.”
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not respond to questions about his plans for the inspectors general and whether he agrees with those calling for a broad purge.
While Trump’s election has led to concern among many federal government workers, particularly over his plans to dismantle civil service protections, the worries in the IG workforce are particularly acute.
“Everyone is just a nervous wreck,” said a staffer in one IG office, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Trump’s tense first-term relations with IGs
Trump has had an uneasy history with inspectors general from the outset of his first term. Days before Trump took office in 2017, a transition team staffer reached out to several IGs and said they could continue in their jobs temporarily while a search for replacements was underway. Talk of a wholesale replacement of IGs — which would buck longstanding precedent — caused some alarm on Capitol Hill, and Trump’s team quickly backed down, describing the action as an error by a junior aide.
“I’ve spoken with the general counsel at the White House on this topic,” House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said at a February 2017 hearing with several inspectors general. “I think it is safe to say that that was a mistake. They wish it hadn’t happened. It is not their approach. It’s not their intention.”
During a span of six weeks in 2020, Trump ousted five inspectors general. He sacked Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community’s chief watchdog, after Atkinson referred to Congress a whistleblower complaint about Trump’s efforts to link Ukraine aid to an announcement of an investigation into the Biden family. Trump also removed an IG overseeing pandemic relief programs and another at the State Department.
“It was like an earthquake through the IG community,” Bromwich recalled. “People said, ‘Oh my God, why are we being focused on all of a sudden?’”
Trump and his allies have also signaled that he intends to be more insistent in his second term that his appointees and even rank-and-file government workers show loyalty to him and his administration.
Many in the IG community have their eyes on whether Trump moves to push out Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and served through the first Trump term and through Joe Biden’s presidency. Several of Horowitz’s reports have provided fodder for Trump’s complaints about sloppy surveillance practices, leaks to the media and signs of anti-Trump sentiment among some at the FBI.
But Trump and his allies have griped that Horowitz stopped short of concluding that political bias affected Trump-related investigations. The president-elect and GOP lawmakers have also faulted the DOJ IG for taking too long — sometimes years — to complete sensitive investigations.
The Grassley factor
One member of Congress has been viewed for decades as the patron saint of inspectors general on Capitol Hill: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). His voice could be critical to whether Trump winds up taking or ignoring some conservatives’ advice to wholesale oust IGs. In addition, several former aides to Grassley, such as former Judiciary Committee counsel and conservative firebrand Mike Davis, hold positions of influence in Trump’s orbit.
Grassley has repeatedly clashed with presidents of both parties when he has perceived them to be intruding on IGs’ independence. And he has called for case-by-case explanations when an inspector general is removed, something that might be difficult for Trump to offer in a government-wide purge. Legislation co-sponsored by Grassley and passed in 2022 requires the president to inform Congress of the “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” before firing or removing an IG. The law also prevents Trump or any president from naming as an acting IG someone who isn’t already working as or for such a watchdog.
Asked Wednesday whether Trump should pursue a broad ouster of IGs, Grassley replied bluntly: “No. He should not.”
“I guess it’s the case of whether he believes in congressional oversight, because I work closely with all the inspector generals and I think I’ve got a good reputation for defending them. And I intend to defend them,” the Iowa Republican added.
When Trump lashed out at IGs during his first term, Grassley publicly urged him to ease up, arguing that they were actually advancing his agenda of accountability for the sprawling federal government.
“I encourage Pres Trump 2view IGs as helpers 2hold bureaucracy accountable+draining swamp,” Grassley wrote on X in 2020.
However, last week, Grassley sent every inspector general in the federal government ademand for information about sexual harassment settlements involving employees of the watchdog offices. The move seemed to raise the possibility he could be gathering data that Trump’s team could use to target specific IG offices.
A spokesperson for Grassley did not respond to a request for comment, but advocates for the IGs expressed hope that the long-serving senator will temper whatever plans Trump may have to upend the watchdog operations — some of which were first set up in the late 1970s.
“I know from personal experience that Sen. Grassley has been a strong proponent of IGs for forever,” Bromwich said. “I would think that he’s going to be consistent with the beliefs that he has advanced throughout his career, rather than bowing to the whims of Donald Trump and some of his people, he will fight to keep the IGs independent. … That will be telling, whether Senator Grassley exercises that influence.”
The White House turned down a Monday morning meeting with a bipartisan group of senators who have been negotiating an end to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, according to three people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.
“Hopefully, a meeting gets set soon once Senate Republicans and the White House get on the same page. This comes as there’s been some positive headway in talks, particularly on body-worn cameras, sensitive locations, officer IDs, and training standards, with conversations continuing on masks, warrants, and use of force standards,” one of the people said.
Senators had hoped to meet Monday with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan morning after a Saturday meeting was canceled by Democrats.
It’s crunch time for talks to reopen the Department of Homeland Security — and President Donald Trump is making things messier.
The House and Senate are scheduled to leave in a few days for a two-week recess. If they go home with no deal, the DHS funding lapse could end up lasting at least two months and break a new record for the longest shutdown of a federal agency. Now Trump is saying he doesn’t even want a deal if the Senate doesn’t pass the SAVE America Act.
Despite Trump’s warning, the threat of a two-month shutdown is spurring an uptick in what had been completely stalled negotiations. Starting Monday, the Trump administration plans to detail ICE agents to airports to do jobs like guarding exits so TSA agents can focus on screening passengers and baggage.
A bipartisan group of senators is aiming to meet Monday with border czar Tom Homan to continue talks, after the White House laid out an expanded offer Friday that included changes to DHS immigration enforcement tactics.
“We’ll see if they can land something,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Sunday.
But Trump made a deal somewhat more complicated Sunday night.
When asked by NewsNation about whether Congress should just fund TSA while negotiating the rest of DHS, he said “I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America.” He then said on Truth Social, “I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.’”
What does it mean? Trump’s missive reflects where some Republicans already believed he was privately — in no mood to accept a DHS deal unless the elections bill is also passed. But negotiators and members of leadership are still hoping there can be a deal.
Trump is also opposed to breaking up DHS funding, including a plan proposed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Kennedy (R-La.) and other conservatives to fund most of DHS now through a bipartisan deal and then let Republicans separately fund ICE and CBP through budget reconciliation, two people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions told Blue Light News. Thune on Sunday didn’t close the door to the idea and noted it was one of several under discussion, though he’s urging Democrats to fund all of DHS.
Despite the movement in negotiations, it’s still looking likely that the DHS shutdown will be record-breaking. While the Senate is considering staying in session if the shutdown isn’t resolved, House GOP leaders do not plan to cut their break short, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private planning. The House will likely vote again on DHS funding on Thursday.
Also for your radar: Senate Democrats will force at least one Iran war powers vote this week and House Democrats are hoping to do the same. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters this weekend that it’s time for Congress to consider a formal authorization for use of military force and that she’s been working with Republicans on what an AUMF might look like.
What else we’re watching: The Senate returns at 3 p.m. to finish debate on Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) nomination to be DHS secretary. Mullin is expected to be confirmed as soon as Monday night after Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined most Republicans Sunday to advance him.
Jennifer Scholtes, Jordain Carney, Katherine Tully-McManus and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is at risk of shattering the record for the longest-ever funding lapse for any federal agency if President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats can’t strike a deal this week.
Lawmakers are scheduled to take a two-week recess for Passover and Easter starting Friday. While the Senate is considering staying in session if the shutdown is not resolved, House GOP leaders do not plan to cut their break short in hopes of reaching an accord, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private planning.
“It’s going to be very, very hard to explain if we leave town this next week without having funded” DHS, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters over the weekend.
Trump threw a curveball into the rekindled talks Sunday night when he declared on Truth Social he would not back any deal unless it includes the GOP’s partisan elections bill, the SAVE America Act. Senators, Trump said, should “lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!!”
“Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary,” he wrote.
The House and Senate are not scheduled to return to business until the week of April 13, when the DHS shutdown would hit Day 60 — significantly exceeding the 43-day record set last fall for the longest federal funding lapse in U.S. history.
The threat of a two-month shutdown — and evidence of lengthening TSA lines at U.S. airports as security officers refuse to work without pay — has spurred an uptick in what had been completely stalled negotiations.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers met twice in the Capitol late last week with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan. Negotiators continued to talk over the weekend, after the White House laid out an expanded offer Friday that included changes to DHS immigration enforcement tactics — the crux of the shutdown fight.
“We’ll see if they can land something,” Thune said in an interview Sunday before Trump delivered his ultimatum. “The clock’s ticking. If we’re going to get this done, we’ve got to get moving pretty quickly here.”
With the urgency to clinch a bipartisan agreement increasing, the White House has sought to engage some of the Democrats who helped negotiate a solution to the broader government funding lapse that ended in November. That includes New Hampshire Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, along with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
Those senators were among the bipartisan group of lawmakers who met in person with Homan last week, along with Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator.
“I can tell you that Democrats are really united, and we are talking to the White House and telling them what our demands are,” Murray told reporters Sunday afternoon. “I don’t know how you define progress. That is really up to the White House, whether they’re willing to move forward on this or not.”
Republican negotiators voiced frustration over the weekend that Democrats hadn’t responded to the updated offer the Trump administration delivered Friday night.
“I would have hoped we could continue to build on the momentum, positive momentum, that I felt like we had at the meeting Friday,” Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), chair of the DHS funding panel, said in an interview Sunday. “I’m clearly disappointed.”
Britt noted that the meetings with Homan last week marked the first in-person DHS negotiations between Democratic lawmakers, their Republican counterparts and a delegate from the White House since the talks began almost two months ago.
“The American people need us to get in the room,” Britt said. “And we have to be expeditious about this.”
Democrats on both sides of the Capitol have pressed Republicans multiple times to take up their bills that would fund all of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the secretary’s office.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday on the Senate floor that negotiators are having “productive conversations,” but Congress should fund TSA in the meantime
“Let’s keep negotiating the outstanding issues with ICE while sending paychecks to TSA workers now,” he added.
But Republicans continue to object to votes on those proposals, saying the entire department needs to be funded. The House has twice passed DHS funding legislation, but Senate Democrats have repeatedly voted against advancing an all-DHS funding bill — most recently on Friday.
Increasingly, Republicans are highlighting the irony that the funding lapse barely affects the agencies Democrats are trying to reign in, since ICE and CBP received about $140 billion from the tax and spending law Republicans enacted along party lines last summer.
“They’re trying to please their base,” Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican appropriator, said about Democrats in an interview. “But I would hope their base is smart enough to know that ICE and Border Patrol are already funded.”
Instead, the shutdown is causing the most disruption at agencies like TSA, where more than 300 airport security screeners have quit since funding lapsed more than five weeks ago. As the workforce goes without pay, TSA callouts also tipped over 10 percent multiple days last week, leading to long lines and travel disruptions at airports across the country.
Starting Monday, the Trump administration plans to detail ICE agents to U.S. airports to do jobs like guarding exits, allowing TSA agents to focus on screening passengers and baggage.
“We ought to fund TSA now,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who requested a vote last week on legislation to fund all of DHS except the immigration enforcement agencies. “But I don’t know why the Republicans insist on holding federal workers hostage, holding TSA workers hostage, so that they can have an unaccountable paramilitary force on our streets.”
Senate Republican leaders are still waiting to make the call on whether to delay or cancel the chamber’s two-week recess. They’re typically reluctant to send lawmakers home during a crisis that requires legislative action.
In contrast, under Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republican leaders have repeatedly resisted pressure to reconvene the House to consider critical legislation while lawmakers are back home during a congressional recess. They argue it’s up to Senate Democrats to cut a DHS deal with the White House.
“We’ll see,” Thune told reporters on Sunday about canceling recess. “We’ll kind of see how the rest of the week plays out.”
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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