“Taxpayers should be really dismayed that these vacancies persisted across administrations,” said Nan Swift, resident fellow for the governance program at the R Street Institute. “I hope that the Biden administration will prioritize these roles because it pays off big time for taxpayers when oversight is happening and when it is professional and competent.”

Administrations of both political parties have not prioritized IGs, she said. Under the Trump administration, “the role of the IG seemed to became so politicized,” she said, while during the Obama administration, a group of IGs became so frustrated with agencies’ lack of cooperation during investigations they wrote to Congress to complain about the impact on oversight.

Featured Publications