Demoting the Education Department's watchdog is a spark in a five-alarm fire

Another day, another chilling development in the fight against waste, fraud and abuse. 

President Trump, who removed 17 inspectors general (including me) at the beginning of his term, continued his attack earlier this month by demoting the acting inspector general of the Department of Education — simply because she was doing her job. 

That job is especially important right now, in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration can proceed with dismantling the Education Department. 

When agencies engage in major muscle movements like the expected shuttering of the Department of Education, inspectors general can add real value through fair, objective and independent oversight. Therefore, changing the acting inspector general under the circumstances is a major issue.  

Here’s the backstory. In March, the secretary of Education announced that the Department of Education would be reducing its workforce by 50 percent, and the president issued an executive order weeks later directing the secretary to begin the process of shuttering the agency entirely.  

In April, the Department of Education’s acting inspector general announced that her office was initiating a series of reviews to examine the effect of the Trump administration's overhaul of the department on its programs.

She described the goal of the reviews as “identify[ing] the cumulative effect of staffing reductions in relation to the department’s statutory responsibilities, along with any actions it should consider, to help ensure productive and efficient operations following its workforce changes.” 

The Office of Inspector General is the internal watchdog in federal agencies, empowered to examine the effectiveness of their agency’s programs. So, this review is squarely within the office’s jurisdiction; it is exactly the entity that should conduct such an assessment.  

Over the ensuing few weeks, however, the department apparently pushed back on the Office of the Inspector General, using standard agency tactics to sabotage oversight — namely, dragging its feet and improperly denying access to information and witnesses. 

After weeks of this pushback, the acting inspector general notified Congress of the Education Department’s delay tactics and unfounded refusals to provide critical information. 

On June 5, President Trump told Congress of his plans to demote the acting inspector general and install a new one. Earlier this month, he did just that.

This should worry every American.  

When a president changes or removes inspectors general for asking difficult questions and conducting oversight that might lead to uncomfortable findings, they no longer are taxpayers’ watchdogs. They transform into presidential lapdogs.  

Inspectors general must be independent to provide fair and objective analysis of their agency’s operations. They are the taxpayers’ representatives inside federal agencies, providing crucial transparency and information to the administration, Congress and ultimately, the American people about how the agency is doing. 

That necessarily includes reviewing controversial issues, like in this case, the shuttering of the Department of Education. It also includes occasionally ruffling feathers with agency leadership, many of whom bristle at independent oversight assessing their office’s performance. 

Inspectors general are a unique and very positive feature of the American federal system. 

As the chair of the Council of Inspectors General, I hosted delegations from numerous foreign countries to discuss the system and how it adds value for the American people. These delegations marveled at America’s inspector general system and passionately inquired how they could implement such a robust accountability mechanism in their countries. 

A perfect example of inspector general effectiveness is “Operation Gold Rush,” the largest health care fraud bust in U.S. history led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. After a two-year investigation, 19 people were charged with multiple crimes related to an alleged $10.6 billion Medicare fraud scheme.  

The demotion of an acting Department of Education inspector general under these circumstances eviscerates the entire inspector general construct. It is wholly inappropriate for her position to be changed for doing her job as required under the Inspector General Act and as Americans have come to expect.  

This has nothing to do with how someone views the specific issues of the Department of Education and whether it should be closed. 

As an inspector general appointed by President Trump who dedicated my career to fighting waste, fraud and abuse and protecting taxpayers’ dollars, I can certainly appreciate the impulse to cut government bloat and inefficiency. The Department of Education is not immune to such problems.  

To the contrary, the problem with this removal is that it is clearly retaliation for conducting legitimate oversight. It will not only impact the oversight at the Department of Education; it will likely undermine the entire inspector general community. 

Could you blame an inspector general for thinking twice about initiating a sensitive evaluation or investigation when they know the president could fire them simply for doing their jobs? Could you blame them for hesitating to investigate a senior Trump appointee when they have the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over their heads? 

This chilling effect should be a cause for concern nationwide. Regardless of whether someone agrees or disagrees with President Trump, all of us should want oversight that is without fear or favor — namely, fair, objective and independent oversight that helps the federal government perform better.  

Inspectors general must be allowed to do their jobs, including asking hard questions, examining sensitive initiatives and pushing back on agencies’ obfuscations. Anything less should raise major alarm bells for the American people. 

Mark Lee Greenblatt is a former inspector general of the U.S. Department of the Interior and chair of the Council of Inspectors General, as well as the author of “Valor: Unsung Heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front.”