Inspectors General and the 2025 Watchdog Firings

What Is an Inspector General

An inspector general is an independent watchdog inside a federal agency, with the power to audit its spending, investigate fraud and misconduct, and report what it finds to the agency head and to Congress. The Inspector General Act of 1978 set up the system, and about 72 offices now oversee agencies from the Pentagon to the Railroad Retirement Board.

An IG works for the public inside the agency it watches. It can see the agency’s records, question its staff, and refer crimes to prosecutors, and it publishes its reports so taxpayers can read them. About half of IGs are picked by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The rest are hired by the agency head.

What Inspectors General Do

Inspectors general do three kinds of work, and each one ends in a public report or a referral. Audits follow the money. Investigations follow people who may have broken the law. Inspections and evaluations ask whether a program works at all.

The law gives IGs tools most agency offices lack. They can see any agency record, issue subpoenas for documents from outside the government, and report straight to Congress. The agency head supervises the IG but cannot stop an audit or an investigation, with narrow exceptions for national security in a few departments.

That independence is why the removal rule matters. The law lets the president remove an IG, but only after telling both houses of Congress the reasons in writing “not later than 30 days before the removal” (5 U.S.C. 403(b)). The notice gives Congress a month to ask whether the watchdog is being fired for doing its job.

What Inspectors General Recover

Inspectors general report returning far more than they cost, though the figure has shrunk for two years. CIGIE, the council of all IGs, adds up the savings from audit recommendations and the money recovered in investigations each year and compares it with the combined IG budget.

The reported return fell from $26 per dollar in 2023 to $17 in 2025.

Potential savings reported for every $1 of inspector general budget

Category	Value
Fiscal 2023: $93.1B saved, $3.5B budget	$26
Fiscal 2024: $71.1B saved, $3.9B budget	$18
Fiscal 2025: $65.6B saved, $3.9B budget	$17

Source: CIGIE Annual Reports to the President and Congress, fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025, returns as CIGIE states them. Budgets exclude Intelligence Community IGs. Potential savings are audit recommendations plus investigative recoveries, not money already collected.

“Potential savings” is not cash in the Treasury. The audit share counts money an agency could save if it follows a recommendation, and agencies do not always follow them. The investigative share is closer to real money: fines, restitution, and settlements. In fiscal 2025 that part rose to $20.6 billion, even as the audit share fell.

The work itself shrank in fiscal 2025, the year of the firings. IGs closed 15,916 investigations in fiscal 2025, 24% fewer than the year before, and issued 1,999 reports.

The 2025 Inspector General Firings

On January 24, 2025, the White House fired 17 inspectors general without the written 30-day notice to Congress the law requires. The offices included Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Education, the Small Business Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

1. 1978 Inspector General Act signed Congress creates independent watchdogs inside federal agencies.
2. 2008 30-day notice required Congress requires the president to give written reasons 30 days before removing an IG.
3. Jan 2025 17 IGs fired at once No 30-day notice is given. Eight of the fired IGs sue in February.
4. Sep 2025 Court: firings broke the law A federal judge finds the notice law was violated but refuses to reinstate the IGs.
5. 2026 Nominees for 6 of 20 open seats The president nominates IGs for HUD, State, GSA, Interior, NASA and Education between April and September.

Sources: 5 U.S.C. 403(b); Storch v. Hegseth docket; Oversight.gov vacancy list.

How the rules on firing inspectors general got here: 1978: Inspector General Act signed (Congress creates independent watchdogs inside federal agencies.). 2008: 30-day notice required (Congress requires the president to give written reasons 30 days before removing an IG.). Jan 2025: 17 IGs fired at once (No 30-day notice is given. Eight of the fired IGs sue in February.). Sep 2025: Court: firings broke the law (A federal judge finds the notice law was violated but refuses to reinstate the IGs.). 2026: Nominees for 6 of 20 open seats (The president nominates IGs for HUD, State, GSA, Interior, NASA and Education between April and September.).

1978: The Inspector General Act created independent watchdog offices inside federal departments and agencies.

2008: Congress added the rule that the president must explain a removal to both houses of Congress in writing 30 days ahead (5 U.S.C. 403(b)).

January 2025: Seventeen IGs were fired on one day. 8 of them sued on February 12 in Storch v. Hegseth: Robert P. Storch (Defense), Michael J. Missal (Veterans Affairs), Christi A. Grimm (Health and Human Services), Larry D. Turner (Labor), Phyllis K. Fong (Agriculture), Cardell K. Richardson Sr. (Education), Sandra D. Bruce (State), Hannibal "Mike" Ware (Small Business Administration) (Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse).

September 2025: Judge Ana Reyes ruled on September 24 that the firings violated the Inspector General Act. She still refused to reinstate the IGs, reasoning that the president could fire them again after giving notice, and that returning them to jobs they could be kept from doing would not prevent real harm (CNN).

2026: After the Supreme Court decided Trump v. Slaughter in June, the judge in July set a pre-motion process for summary judgment on the IGs’ remaining claims, which include back pay, and set a pre-motion conference for October 14, 2026. That day the court set deadlines for government status reports on October 16 and October 23 and a joint status report on November 9 (CourtListener docket). No final ruling has come. Between April and September, the president nominated IGs for 6 offices.

Empty Watchdog Offices

On October 8, 2026, 27 watchdog offices had no permanent inspector general, about 38% of all of them. Of those, 20 are seats the president fills with Senate confirmation, and only 6 have a nominee. An acting IG, usually a senior staff member, runs each empty office in the meantime.

An acting IG can do the job, but a watchdog who can be replaced at any moment is in a weaker spot to challenge the people who could replace them. That is why the length of the gap matters. The Treasury Department’s IG seat has been open for 2,657 days, more than 7 years, across three administrations. Eight offices, including State, Energy, Transportation and Education, have been without a confirmed IG for 619 days, since the week of the January 2025 firings.

Where the inspector general fights stand

As of October 8, 2026

• Firing of 17 inspectors general In litigation, not reinstated

  A judge ruled on September 24, 2025 that the firings broke the notice law but refused to reinstate the IGs. In July 2026 she set a pre-motion process for summary judgment on the remaining claims, including back pay. On October 14, 2026, the day set for the pre-motion conference, the court set deadlines for government status reports on October 16 and 23 and a joint status report on November 9. (source)

• Open presidentially appointed IG seats Agency action, 20 open

  14 of the 20 open seats the president fills have no nominee. (source)

• Nominees before the Senate Proposal, 6 pending

  Jeffrey Ledbetter (HUD, April 27), Carl Anderson (State, June 1), Maria D’Avanzo (GSA, July 14), Dennis Kirk (Interior, August 7), Robert Steinau (NASA, September 28) and Mark Priebe (Education, September 28) await confirmation. (source)

Source: Oversight.gov; Storch v. Hegseth docket (Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse); CIGIE

Some of the other seats in the firing were filled. The Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Labor, Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration do not appear on the vacancy list, so each has a confirmed or appointed IG in place. The deep state explainer covers the wider push to bring federal oversight offices under closer White House control.

How to Report to an Inspector General

Anyone can report fraud, waste, or abuse to an inspector general, and federal workers have legal protection when they do. You do not need proof of a crime. Report what you saw, and let the IG decide whether it merits a closer look.

Find your situation

Start with who you are. Each situation names where to report and what protects you.

I saw fraud or waste in a federal program

1. Find the IG for that agency through Oversight.gov, which links every office's hotline.
2. File online or by phone. Give dates, names, amounts, and where records can be found.
3. You can ask to stay confidential or report anonymously, though anonymous tips are harder for investigators to follow up.

I am a federal employee and want to report wrongdoing at my agency

1. Report to your agency's IG. Disclosures of lawbreaking, gross waste, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority, or a danger to health or safety are protected ([5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/2302)).
2. Ask for the IG's Whistleblower Protection Coordinator, a post every office must have, who explains your rights before you report.
3. Keep your own copies of what you report and when.

I reported something and my agency is retaliating

1. File a retaliation complaint with the Office of Special Counsel.
2. If the Special Counsel does not resolve it, you can take the case to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
3. Write down every change to your job, pay, or duties since you reported, with dates.

I work for a federal contractor or grant recipient

1. Contractor and grantee employees are protected when they report fraud or waste to an IG ([41 U.S.C. 4712](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/41/4712)).
2. If you face retaliation, file a complaint with the IG of the agency that funds the contract within three years.

A hotline complaint moves through the same steps at every office.

What happens after you report to an inspector general

1. 1 Day 1 File with the hotline Online, by phone, or by mail. Ask for confidentiality if you need it.
2. 2 Days to weeks Intake review Staff decide whether the tip is within the IG's reach and credible enough to pursue.
3. 3 Weeks to months Referral or case The IG opens an audit or investigation, or refers the tip to the agency or another office.
4. 4 Months or longer Findings Crimes go to prosecutors. Audits and evaluations become public reports.

Source: Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. 401-424; CIGIE.

Most complaints never become a case. IGs handled 825,027 hotline complaints in fiscal 2025 and closed 15,916 investigations, so a tip with specific dates, names and records has the best chance of being pursued.

What Inspectors General Cannot Do

• An IG cannot punish anyone. It can find wrongdoing and recommend discipline, but the agency decides on firings, and prosecutors decide whether to charge a crime.
• An IG cannot force an agency to follow its advice. Agencies must answer recommendations, not accept them.
• An IG does not oversee the president or Congress. IGs cover agencies. Congress has its own watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, which works for lawmakers rather than inside an agency.
• Not every firing of an IG is unlawful. The president can remove an IG for any reason. The law requires notice and written reasons, not cause, which is why the court in 2025 found a violation but did not order the IGs back.

What You Can Do

1. Report what you see. If you have firsthand knowledge of fraud or waste in a federal program, file with that agency’s IG through Oversight.gov. Specific dates and records matter more than volume.
2. Read your agency’s IG reports. Oversight.gov publishes audits and evaluations for every office. Look up the program you rely on, such as Social Security, veterans’ care, or disaster aid.
3. Ask your senators about the empty seats. 14 watchdog seats the president must fill have no nominee. Ask your senators to press for nominations and hold confirmation votes on the 6 pending nominees.
4. Support a stronger removal law. Ask Congress to require that an IG be removed only for cause, so a watchdog cannot be fired for doing the job. Our guide to writing your members of Congress covers how to make the ask.