Summary
- White
House defunded the federal watchdog Council of Inspectors General (CIGIE). - Funding
cut effective immediately, halting watchdog operations. - CIGIE
supports 72 inspectors general overseeing government integrity.
On Wednesday, a major federal watchdog’s website fell
offline as the federal government started a shutdown.
However, the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency is unlikely to return when the closure eventually ends.
The Washington Post reported last week that the White
House‘s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) informed the committee and the
council that its funding will be reduced when the new fiscal year starts on
October 1.
With the start of the new fiscal year on Wednesday, the
council’s website appeared to be down, save for the brief notice that said,
“Due to a lack of apportionment of funds, this website is currently
unavailable.”
The Council of Inspectors General served as a common
resource for the dozens of inspectors general’s offices spread
throughout the executive branch of government prior to its closure. It operated
a tip line to gather reports of fraud, abuse, and waste, and it trained
investigatory staff.
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC),
established as a subcommittee of the council and established under the CARES
Act, might have also been shut down by the White House when it shut down the
council. (On Wednesday morning, though, its website was still operational.)
The PRAC was tasked with overseeing pandemic relief
spending—which was absolutely rife with fraud—and was recently reauthorized by
Congress until 2034 as part of the 2025 tax bill.
The White House’s decision to close the two federal watchdog
agencies has drawn criticism from at least two Republican senators.
“We
urgently request an explanation for these actions and ask that you to promptly
reverse course so that CIGIE and PRAC can continue their important oversight
work uninterrupted,”
wrote Sens. Susan Collins (R–Maine) and Chuck
Grassley (R–Iowa) in a letter to OMB Director Russell Vought this week.
“Absent immediate action, CIGIE and PRAC will need to
furlough staff and terminate important functions that help prevent and detect
waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the government,”
the senators added.
“The OMB has discretion over the council’s
budget,”
New Civil Liberties Alliance lawyer John Vecchione told the Post.
It would be more appropriate to inquire as to whether this
approach is prudent rather than lawful.
This latest attempt to undermine the effectiveness of the
government’s watchdogs, similar to the previous attempt to remove dozens of
inspectors general from their positions, indicates that the Trump
administration is more concerned with excluding those who might raise concerns
about corruption than with cleaning up the swamp.
What legal options exist to restore the council’s funding?
The most straightforward, and most commonly used, method is
for Congress to enact legislation, or an appropriations bill, that both
restores or provides funding for the council. Congress holds the power of the
purse for the federal government, and Congress can also override decisions of
the executive branch through the budget.
If the defunding is in violation of statute or in an area or
manner that exceeds the authority of the executive branch, parties harmed by
the funding reduction may contest the defunding in court. Courts are able to
order funds to be restored in a case where the executive branch is found to
have been acting unlawfully. Nevertheless, courts take time to process cases
and results are uncertain.
Congress is able to hold hearings, and is able to use public
and political optics to encourage the executive branch or Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) to restore funding for the council.
