Oversight
VA’s former EHR lead indicted for concealing contractor gifts
The Justice Department alleges that John Windom accepted and sometimes demanded various gifts while helming the electronic health record modernization at Veterans Affairs.
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Oversight
Inspector general group to be led by former Trump administration adviser
A government oversight organization said that the selection of Cheryl Mason, who is the inspector general for the Veterans Affairs Department, shows the White House is “putting more of a thumb on the scale” of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Oversight
Inspector general’s reported plan to run for Congress is a Hatch Act violation, lawmakers and ethics orgs say
Federal employees are not permitted to run for partisan office or to prepare for such an election.
Oversight
Trump’s anti-fraud task force poised to scrutinize benefits programs
The new White House task force will withhold government funding for state and local benefits programs if their anti-fraud controls are viewed as lacking.
Oversight
Watchdog warns of challenges as IRS handles first tax season after Trump staffing cuts
The Government Accountability Office also reported that the tax agency has reversed some of its losses due to the deferred resignation program.
Oversight
Many federal programs are missing from an OMB inventory, watchdog reports
A recent Government Accountability Office report found that a federal program inventory is incomplete, not in compliance with statutory requirements and includes inaccurate information.
Oversight
Whistleblower report about waste leads to downsizing at one agency, OSC reports
The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals increased staffing to deal with a backlog of appeals, but an individual flagged that the expanded workforce was not readjusted when case levels returned to normal, resulting in about $30 million in unnecessary costs.
Oversight
Homeland Security Department is stonewalling watchdog investigations, GOP senator alleges
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that he would procedurally obstruct the legislative process until officials respond to his questions about department oversight.
Oversight
Memo to JD Vance: Fighting the War on waste
COMMENTARY | The White House's proposed war on fraud, waste and abuse is neither new nor an assured outcome for any presidential administration, but history offers some lessons that can help get started.
Oversight
Bipartisan lawmakers worried about shaky progress on modernized government worker background check system
The IT system undergirding the overhauled background check program is nearly a decade behind schedule and billions over budget.
Oversight
GAO report offers new details on the workers agencies lost last year
The government watchdog agency found that nearly 144,000 federal workers were accepted into the deferred resignation program in the first half of 2025.
Oversight
Amid immigration agent hiring surge, watchdog flags shortages on the U.S.-Canada border
Only 77% of surveillance specialist openings were filled at the end of fiscal 2024, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.
Oversight
Indian Affairs regional employees have more work and fewer people to do it, watchdog reports
Officials from one region said that Trump staff cuts impaired a response to a wildland fire, while others characterized disbursing Inflation Reduction Act funds as an “unfunded mandate.”
Updated
Oversight
‘My dream job has turned into a nightmare’: Ex-feds and public service experts testify to Congress on how to rebuild government post-Trump
Some recommendations that several Democratic lawmakers and advocates brought up included overturning Schedule Policy/Career, restoring collective bargaining rights for the federal workforce and increasing congressional oversight.
Oversight
Watchdog flags gaps in Coast Guard’s handling of discrimination complaints
More than half of the incidents analyzed in the report, which looked back to fiscal 1998, occurred between fiscal 2019 and 2024.
Oversight
Gabbard’s office denies wrongdoing amid scrutiny over whistleblower complaint
ODNI said she acted within her authority in response to reports describing an NSA-intercepted phone call tied to the case.
Oversight
DHS implies it will stop certain oversight investigations, senator alleges
A Homeland Security Department official stressed in a statement that the secretary has the authority to pause some inspector general inquiries.
Updated
Oversight
A thinning roster at Indian Affairs leaves tribes wondering who’s left to help, watchdog reports
Indian Affairs’ workforce has decreased by 11% since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
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Oversight
Democrats ask watchdog marked by past controversy to expedite reviews of ICE, CBP
Misconduct allegations against Homeland Security Department inspector general Joseph Cuffari were substantiated in 2024, but President Joe Biden did not remove him.
Oversight