Federal inspectors general are supposed to be watchdogs independent of federal agencies, and while former President Donald Trump purged several inspectors last spring on vague pretenses, President Biden has to decide whether to break the rules further by firing Trump’s picks and replacing them with confirmed officers in the usual way, The New York Times reports. The biggest dilemmas are Eric Soskin, the inspector general of the Department of Transportation, and Brian Miller, a former Trump White House lawyer appointed in early 2020 to look for abuses in pandemic spending.
“Almost all inspectors general since Congress created independent anti-corruption surveillance positions in 1978 have been confirmed unanimously or by verbal vote without registered opposition,” but only one Democrat voted to confirm Miller, the Times reports. Along with objections that he was too close to Trump, Miller has faced scrutiny for apparently doing little in his first eight months, although he did report to Congress on Monday outlining some investigative work. “I try to be bipartisan and non-partisan – certainly as an inspector general and in everything I do,” Miller said. Times.
Soskin’s office, meanwhile, was investigating whether Trump’s transportation secretary Elaine Chao had wrongly directed federal funds to Kentucky to help with the re-election of her husband, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) . In December, McConnell, then the majority leader, used his power to prioritize Soskin’s confirmation over four other inspectors general appointed ahead of him on the line, the Times reports, ensuring that a Republican nominee would take office as soon as Biden took office. Danielle Brian, executive director of Project on Government Oversight, signaled McConnell’s move once.
Oh, I should also have mentioned that the alleged offense involves the Secretary of Transportation trying to help her husband McConnell, yes, the same person who is trying to force confirmation today.
– Danielle Brian (@daniellebrian) December 18, 2020
McConnell needed two attempts, but on December 21 he got confirmation from Soskin 48-47, the first party vote for an inspector general. Despite the obvious conflict of interest, Brian said that removing Soskin and other inspectors general appointed by Trump “would essentially exacerbate the problems he created in the first place.”
Soskin declined, through a spokesman, to comment on the state of the Chao-McConnell investigation in his office. A McConnell spokesman pointed to a 2019 statement in which McConnell openly praised his ability to channel federal dollars into Kentucky.
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Originally published