In the Trump Administration, Watchdogs Are Watching Their Backs

Even as President Trump fired a string of government watchdogs early in his second term, René L. Rocque, who investigates waste and abuse in the Education Department, decided to put her head down and keep doing her job.

The department stonewalled her request for details about how the Trump administration’s cuts were affecting students and teachers, but Ms. Rocque kept going. In May, she notified Congress that she was facing “unreasonable denials and repeated delays.”

The administration, it seems, was fed up. Within days, Mr. Trump ordered Ms. Rocque demoted and gave the job of acting inspector general to someone else.

The message to thousands of workers in inspectors general offices was clear: Be careful what you choose to investigate or you might be out of a job.

Mr. Trump has fired or demoted more than 20 inspectors general or acting inspectors general since he took office six months ago, hobbling offices that for years have served as a check on waste, fraud and abuse. In the 2024 fiscal year alone, the inspectors general fired by Mr. Trump identified more than $50 billion in waste and abuse, according to a congressional report whose findings were confirmed by The New York Times.

In nearly a dozen interviews with The Times, current and former staff members said there was a pervasive fear inside inspectors general offices that simply doing their jobs could get them fired. One former employee said the interim leader at his office was “paralyzed with fear”; another said his office was nervous about going forward with investigations that could prompt political blowback; a third rattled off a list of agency staff members who had quit, jeopardizing investigations.