Overview
- Reporting Friday shows Veterans Affairs Inspector General Cheryl Mason held up an office move over a requested private en-suite bathroom, a request she denies and the General Services Administration says it cannot confirm.
- Records and interviews say Mason ordered removal of public alerts, delayed reports on electronic health records, and excised sections critical of VA physician shortages, moves staff say limit transparency.
- Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito fired a career staffer overseeing a probe into his predecessor’s cabinet secretary and has publicly praised and campaigned with President Trump, actions staff say blur political lines.
- Acting HUD Inspector General Brian Harrison told staff the office should act as the secretary’s “strong right arm,” and independent research from the Partnership for Public Service finds audits are down about 15 percent, investigative reports down roughly 25 percent, and OIG staffing down nearly 20 percent since the leadership changes.
- The changes mark a break with post-Watergate norms that kept watchdog offices at arm’s length from agency leaders and raise risks to accountability, whistleblower protection, and public visibility into agency problems like VA staffing and records modernization.