Latest news with #inspectorGeneral
CBS News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Congressional Democrats push for new watchdog to oversee Trump's White House
Senate Democrats are planning to introduce new legislation to create a new watchdog office to monitor the conduct and actions of President Trump's White House and future administrations. The bill, which will be formally announced Wednesday by a group of congressional Democrats, requires an inspector general to oversee the Executive Office of the President. The legislation has been attempted previously, but has new urgency, according to its authors. "Inspectors general conduct important independent oversight throughout different agencies in the executive branch. But the same is not true when it comes to the President and the White House — where there is no inspector general," said Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is sponsoring the bill. "That should change, regardless of who is in office." Schiff said an inspector general overseeing the White House offices and staff would "ensure that no President or administration is above the law." "Inspectors general hold federal agencies accountable by rooting out fraud and abuse, and this legislation would implement the same oversight of our nation's highest office," said Schiff, a longtime Trump foe who has helped investigate the president – drawing stiff criticism from Mr. Trump. Ethics and watchdog groups have long advocated for an inspector general to monitor White House staff and offices. Rep. Rosa Delauro, a Connecticut Democrat who is also sponsoring the legislation, had proposed a similar bill in 2017 during Mr. Trump's first term. Delauro said, "This is a vital check on executive power that is long overdue." Congressional Democrats have criticized Mr. Trump for years over alleged conflicts between his business interests and his role as president — a charge the Trump administration has long denied, saying his assets are managed by his children. The bill faces long odds in a GOP-controlled House and Senate, and Republican leadership is unlikely to bring the bill to a vote. DeLauro's 2017 bill did not advance beyond the House Oversight Committee. And this latest Democratic effort to subject the White House to greater outside inspection and scrutiny is bound to be seen by the administration and its supporters as a partisan political move. Dozens of inspectors general work throughout the federal government to audit, inspect and investigate agencies, aiming to root out waste, fraud and misconduct. In recent years, inspectors have uncovered wait time issues at veterans' medical centers, luxurious parties funded by taxpayers and criminal sexual misconduct by agency employees. The watchdogs typically serve across administrations and are rarely fired. But the White House and its staff have not been monitored by such an office. The Executive Office of the President has hundreds of employees, including key aides such as the president's press secretary, chief of staff and national security adviser. "The Executive Office of the President — the epicenter of federal policymaking and governance — lacks this key form of internal oversight, allowing corrupt actors at the highest levels of government to evade public accountability," said Debra Perlin, a vice president with the Washington, D.C.-based Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington. Mr. Trump has fueled concerns about the ability of agency watchdogs to monitor administration policies, decisions and employees. Mr. Trump fired more than a dozen federal inspectors general in the opening days of his second term, triggering an ongoing federal civil suit by the ousted officials, who allege the firings were not lawful. The administration also fired the former head of the Office of Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger, which monitors employees across federal agencies. Dellinger — who dropped his legal fight against his firing after an appeals court sided with Mr. Trump — told "60 Minutes" earlier this year: "I'm not looking to promote a president's agenda or thwart it. I'm just trying to make sure the laws are followed." The administration has argued the president has the right to remove inspectors general. Mr. Trump called firing the watchdogs "a very standard thing to do." Mr. Trump has also appointed some loyal surrogates to other watchdog positions in his administration, raising questions about their independence. The president chose right-wing podcast host and MAGA loyalist Paul Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
Free Malaysia Today
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Special Branch chief Khalid Ismail is new IGP
Khalid Ismail has been heading the Special Branch since May 2023. (Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA : Bukit Aman Special Branch director Khalid Ismail has been appointed as the new inspector-general of police on a two-year contract, effective June 23. He will take over as the nation's top cop from Razarudin Husain, whose term ends on June 22. Razarudin, who was appointed as the IGP for a two-year term in June 2023, had said he would not extend his contract out of respect for his mother's wishes. Khalid, 60, joined the police force in April 1987 and began his career with the Special Branch at Bukit Aman. He has held various key positions, including deputy director of Special Branch I, and security liaison officer at the Malaysian high commission in London. He was appointed as Special Branch director in April 2023 before reaching the mandatory retirement age in April 2025. His service was then extended on a contract basis, which remains in effect. Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in a statement the appointment was made with the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, in accordance with Articles 140(4) and 140(5) of the Federal Constitution, on the advice of the prime minister and recommendation of the Police Force Commission. He thanked Razarudin for his services and congratulated Khalid on his appointment.
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept.'s Inspector General to Move to the Federal Reserve
Michael E. Horowitz is stepping down as the Justice Department's longtime inspector general to become the chief internal watchdog official at the Federal Reserve. He will take over effective June 30, the Federal Reserve said in a statement on Friday. Under a federal law, the chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, appoints the agency's inspector general without presidential input or Senate confirmation. The role will also give Mr. Horowitz jurisdiction to scrutinize the Consumer Financial Protection Board, an agency the Trump administration is trying to gut, although judicial interventions have slowed down that effort. Mr. Trump made his White House budget chief, Russell T. Vought, the acting head of the board. Inspectors general are embedded within agencies to hunt for and prevent waste, fraud, inefficiencies and abuses of power. Their creation, in a 1978 law, was a key reform by Congress after the Watergate scandal. Mr. Horowitz was one of the few inspectors general to be spared when President Trump fired as many as 17 of the officials at major departments or agencies days after returning to office, curbing a significant internal check on how he and his political appointees use their power. Eight of them have since filed a lawsuit challenging those removals, which violated a law that says a president must give advance notice to Congress and a detailed explanation for any such dismissal. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
06-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Fed Names Horowitz to Lead Office of Inspector General
Michael Horowitz, a former internal watchdog at the Justice Department, will lead the Federal Reserve's inspector-general office, the central bank said Friday. Horowitz succeeds Mark Bialek, who retired from the role in April. For 13 years, Horowitz served as inspector general at the Justice Department. While there he led a high-profile review that found fault with portions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's examination of alleged links between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Prisons bureau failed to screen inmates for colorectal cancer, watchdog says
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has failed to adequately screen thousands of older inmates in its custody for colorectal cancer, raising the risk that inmates with the disease might miss potentially lifesaving diagnoses and treatment, a government watchdog said in a report released Tuesday. The report by the inspector general for the Justice Department, the bureau's parent agency, reviewed screening rates from January 2020 through April 2024, finding what it called 'serious operational and managerial deficiencies that the BOP must address' in screening and treating the disease, which is a leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
