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Inspectors General

What is an inspector general in the federal government?
What are his/her functions?
May a President remove an inspector general?

An inspector general (IG) is an independent, non-partisan position located in many federal government offices,1 whose purpose is to improve the efficiency and accountability of the office in which it is located.  To achieve its objectives, an IG may pursue claims of waste, fraud and abuse of power within the agency as well as allegations of the same made by whistleblowers.  An IG reports to the head of its department/agency, but the head does not control the work of the IG.  An IG may also receive requests for audits and investigations from members of Congress and the President.  An IG’s completed reports are delivered to the department/agency head and the people who requested the report.  Depending on the nature of the report, it may also be sent to Congress and the President. 

Currently, inspectors general are appointed to ten-year terms by a President, and must be confirmed by the Senate.  By statute, a President may remove an IG before the term ends for causes such as corruption and incompetence, but the President must give Congress 30 days’ notice and provide a detailed, written justification for the removal.  In 1981, President Reagan asked for the resignations of 16 IGs on his first day in office, but after bipartisan criticism, he announced that the 16 could apply for their positions and compete with other applicants.  Five of the original were rehired.  Subsequent presidents have followed the rules in removing IGs; however, no president has ever removed more than a few during his time in office. 

The earliest IGs were appointed by presidents on their own initiative in the 1950s,2 followed later by a 1976 congressional statute that created an IG for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) now called Health and Human Service (HHS). 
  In 1978, Congress passed the Inspectors General Act, which called for the placement of twelve IGs in most Cabinet departments and described the objectives and powers of the IGs.  The Act has been amended by Congress four times since 1978: 
  First, the Inspector General Amendments Act of 1988 expanded the number of IGs, provided for uniform salaries and required regular external evaluations and reports of the IG’s work. 
  Second, the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 created a new Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to coordinate and oversee the IG community, and an Integrity Committee to investigate alleged IG wrongdoing. 
  Third, the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016 improved the IGs’ access to agency records, while also permitting the CIGIE to resolve jurisdictional disputes among IGs.  Regarding transparency and accountability, the act required IGs to submit any documents containing recommendations for corrective action to agency heads and congressional committees of jurisdiction, as well as any member of Congress or other individuals upon request. 
  Fourth, the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 and the Integrity Committee Transparency Act of 2022.  These acts “increased the independence of the IG community by placing new limits on the removal of IGs, the management of vacancies, and the selection of acting IGs.  The act increased the information that the President and heads of DFEs (Designated Federal Entities — eg, the Department of Defense or the Department of Labor) must provide to Congress prior to removal of an IG.  The amendments also limited the circumstances in which an IG may be placed on non-duty status.  When a vacancy in an IG position does occur, the act limited those who may serve as an acting IG to certain officials within the IG community, and required the President to report to Congress if there are extended periods in which an IG position is vacant and without a nominee.  The act also increased the IG community’s transparency to Congress by altering the requirements for semi-annual reports.” 3

  1. There are currently 75 inspectors general positioned in all Cabinet departments (eg, State, Defense), independent departments (eg, NASA, CIA, EPA), governmental corporations (eg, the TVA, USPS, FDIC ) and several independent regulatory boards/commissions (eg, NLRB, CPSC ).
  2. See the Congressional Research Report: Statutory Inspectors General in the Federal Government: A Primer, 2013.  https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/r/r45450
  3. ibid, p 3.

Additional Information

For additional reading see:  Charles A. Johnson and Kathryn E. Newcomer, U.S. Inspectors General: Truthtellers in Turbulent Times.  Brookings Institution Press, 2019;  and Glenn A. Fine, Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government. University of Virginia Press, 2024. 


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