From Watchdogs to ‘Lapdogs’: Inside the Trumpification of Agencies’ Inspectors General

Between canceled reports, deleted pages and mass firings, the government is getting less oversight.

HHS OIG federal agent

Cabinet department OIGs issued 15% fewer audits and a quarter fewer investigative reports on average in the first half of this fiscal year compared to the same time period in every year from 2020 to 2024. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

The Veterans Affairs Department’s internal watchdog was set to relocate to a different Washington office space last year. That was until the inspector general decided she needed her own bathroom.

Cheryl Mason, who served as VA Secretary Doug Collins’ senior adviser before President Donald Trump fired the existing IG and tapped her to replace him, held up the move for months, citing the need for a personal lavatory in her office, three people familiar with the matter told NOTUS.

“She says that’s when people are at their most vulnerable moment,” and the lack of an en suite bathroom presented security concerns, an IG employee said. “They’re having to redesign the whole space.”