Federal Watchdogs Conducting Far Less Oversight as Trump Administration Cuts Staff

The federal offices that investigate fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs are completing far fewer audits and investigations under the Trump administration, even as staffing cuts across agencies have made those programs more prone to error.

Cabinet department offices of inspectors general — the government’s internal watchdogs — issued 15% fewer audit reports and 25% fewer investigative reports in the first half of fiscal year 2026 compared to their 2020-2024 average, according to data released by the Partnership for Public Service. Some departments saw steeper drops: the Department of Education’s inspector general office issued 66% fewer audit reports, while Housing and Urban Development’s office completed 59% fewer investigations.

The decline comes after President Trump spent his first year firing 11 of 13 Cabinet department inspectors general and cutting staff across the offices they lead. As of May 31, the average Cabinet department inspector general office had lost 19% of its staff since December 2024 — already matching the staffing levels the administration had projected for the end of fiscal year 2027.

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The three offices with the deepest staffing cuts — Treasury (down 31%), Education (down 28%), and HUD (down 25%) — are also the three with the steepest declines in investigative reports, at 55%, 54%, and 59% fewer, respectively.

“Every report that did not happen represents oversight that did not occur,” the analysis states. “An audit not conducted means a program went unexamined — no findings, no recommendations and no formal decision the agency must make and answer for.”

In the second half of fiscal year 2024 alone, before the decline, investigative teams in the four offices with the greatest reporting decreases reported 200 arrests, 189 convictions, and $155 million saved or recovered. Cases that are never opened produce none of these results.

The public is also getting access to oversight reports more slowly. Reports covering the second half of fiscal year 2025 took 106 days to become public, compared to an average of 53 days from 2020 to 2024. The Department of Homeland Security’s report for that period took nine months — roughly five months past what the law allows.

The delays come “during a time when there are significant concerns about agency interference with OIG investigations and how the department is using its drastically increased budget,” the analysis notes.

Congress has declined to cut inspector general funding despite repeated requests from the Trump administration since fiscal year 2024.

The Breakdown

• Inspector general offices conduct audits (structured reviews of whether a program complies with the law, functions properly, and achieves what it was funded to achieve) and investigations (following up on tips or referrals alleging fraud, ethics violations, or abuse by employees, contractors, or grantees).
• 11 of 13 Cabinet departments issued fewer audit reports in the first half of fiscal year 2026 than their 2020-2024 average; 8 of 11 issued fewer investigative reports.
• The administration has fired 11 of 13 Cabinet department inspectors general, installed inspectors general with political ties to the president, placed non-Senate confirmed appointees in these offices, and cut staff by 19% on average as of May 31.
• The three offices with the deepest staff cuts — Treasury, Education, and HUD — are also the three with the steepest declines in investigative reports.
• Semiannual reports that inspectors general must provide to Congress and the public are being released more slowly — 106 days on average for the second half of fiscal year 2025, compared to 53 days historically. DHS’s report for that period took nine months, five months past the legal deadline.

What This Means for You

Federal programs — from education funding to housing assistance to disaster relief — are operating with less experienced leadership and fewer staff after 18 months of cuts across government agencies. The inspector general offices that exist to catch errors, fraud, and waste in those programs are themselves being cut and are producing far less oversight, exactly when agencies are most prone to mistakes.

When an inspector general office doesn’t open an investigation, taxpayer dollars that were misspent are never recovered. When an audit doesn’t happen, a program goes unexamined and problems go unfixed. The administration has fired the watchdogs and cut their staff — and the result, measured in actual oversight reports, is far less scrutiny than those agencies received under prior administrations.

As a voter, you’re being asked to trust that shrinking oversight makes government more accountable. The data show the opposite: fewer audits, fewer investigations, fewer fraud cases brought, and less information reaching Congress and the public about how agencies are actually performing.

What to Watch

The administration says it wants government to be more efficient and accountable, but it has systematically weakened the offices that measure whether agencies are achieving either. The House passed 11 fraud-prevention bills in a single week in June 2026 — yet the very offices that prevent fraud in federal programs are being gutted at the same time. Is Congress passing symbolic bills while allowing the real enforcement mechanism to collapse, or will it use appropriations power to reverse the cuts?

A more uncomfortable question: when an administration fires the watchdogs, cuts their staff, delays their reports, and appoints politically-connected replacements, is the goal actually to find more fraud or to face less scrutiny? The pattern is a recognized one across governments and across parties — the official in charge of a program is rarely the one most eager for an independent audit of it. Voters weighing this administration’s performance should ask directly: what is the Trump administration trying to avoid an inspector general finding?