Newest inspector general nominees show shift from overtly political backgrounds

On one of the first days of his second term, Donald Trump fired 17 agency inspectors general. And most of the president’s picks who have been confirmed to lead the watchdog offices previously worked in his first or second administration, raising concerns from good government groups about their ability to perform independent oversight of federal programs. 

Trump’s latest IG nominees, however, generally have experience working in an IG office and appear to be more typical picks for the nonpartisan watchdog role.  

Justice Department 

Trump nominated Don Berthiaume, a career IG employee, to lead the DOJ IG office, where he is currently serving as a senior advisor. 

The president tapped Berthiaume as the acting IG at DOJ from October 2025 through January 2026, but his tenure was cut short by rules that limit how long an individual can serve in an acting position. 

Specifically, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act generally restricts officials from filling a role in an acting capacity to no more than 210 days after a vacancy occurs. The position at DOJ opened up in June 2025 when former DOJ IG Michael Horowitz left to become the IG for the Federal Reserve. 

The deputy DOJ IG, William Blier, is currently performing the duties of the IG. 

If confirmed, Berthiaume will face several politically sensitive challenges. Lawyers for a DOJ whistleblower in March accused the IG office of not investigating multiple misconduct allegations. And the DOJ watchdog in April announced that it would audit the department’s compliance with the law mandating the release of government files related to the deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

But Mark Lee Greenblatt — former Interior Department IG who was fired by Trump and who has been critical of the president’s IG selections — praised Berthiaume’s nomination. 

“In my experience of working literally next to [Berthiaume] for years on very sensitive political cases, he showed to me that he is a straight shooter,” Greenblatt said. “When compared with some of the IG nominees that President Trump has put forward in other significant positions, this [nomination] is — from my perspective — a home run.”

Education Department

Like Berthiaume, Trump’s pick to serve as Education IG — Heidi Semann — comes from the IG community and had a stint as acting IG. 

The president in July 2025 replaced acting Education IG René Rocque, who is also the office’s deputy, with Semann. The swap came after Rocque notified Congress that investigators had “experienced unreasonable denials and repeated delays” from the department during an investigation into the administration’s workforce reductions. 

In December 2025, however, Semann’s tenure as acting IG ended, and she returned to her position as a senior special agent at the Federal Reserve OIG. A spokesperson for the Education OIG confirmed to Government Executive that this was due to time limits on acting officials in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. 

Mark Priebe, who replaced Semann as acting and is still in the position, was a senior official in the Education OIG who appears to have shared social media posts supporting Trump. 

Similarly, Greenblatt argued that Semann, given her oversight experience, is a “marked improvement” from Trump’s past IG nominees. But he still has some concerns. 

“She seems to be having this meteoric rise from obscurity to an incredibly important sensitive role, so I think that does raise a question in my mind,” he said. “But since she’s coming from the OIG community, and with an oversight background, then hopefully she is coming to this position with that fair, objective and independent mindset.” 

Housing and Urban Development Department 

At the end of April, Trump nominated Jeffrey Ledbetter of Virginia to be IG at HUD. Neither the White House, the HUD OIG or Republicans or Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, where his nomination has been referred, responded to a request to confirm who Ledbetter is or otherwise provide biographical information. 

The president had selected Jeremy Ellis, who has more than two decades of investigative experience, as his HUD IG nominee, but that nomination was withdrawn in September 2025.