1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I’m writing as an Arizona voter to urge you to fix the broken Inspector General system and the loopholes that allow vacancies and political purges of IGs. Since January 2025, President Trump has fired or forced out more than 20 inspectors general, often without meaningful explanation, gutting independent oversight across the federal government. Many IG roles at major departments like Treasury, IRS, NASA, and SSA remain vacant or filled only by acting officials with less independence and authority. The 210-day “deadline” under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act is meaningless in practice because the clock restarts after failed nominations. This restart-on-failure mechanism is a loophole, not a safeguard. It allows a President to submit weak or intentionally doomed nominees, let them fail, and keep agencies without a permanent, independent IG for years. I want you to: • Eliminate the restart-on-failure loophole so the 210-day period is a hard, one-time limit. After that, Congress—not the President—should gain appointment power or there should be a real consequence, not just a letter. • Support for-cause removal protections for IGs so they can only be fired for serious misconduct (like malfeasance, neglect of duty, incapacity, or felony conviction), not for doing their jobs too well. • Require that acting IGs be senior nonpolitical OIG career staff, not political allies installed as “temporary” watchdogs. • Require that IG nominees come from or at least be vetted through the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to prioritize qualifications and independence over loyalty. Inspectors General are one of the last lines of defense against corruption, fraud, and abuse. When these roles are vacant or politicized, taxpayers lose, and the rule of law erodes. I want you to publicly support strong IG independence reforms, co-sponsor serious legislation to implement them, and push leadership to prioritize hearings and votes on both nominees and reform bills. Please respond with what concrete steps you are taking or will take on IG vacancies and IG independence.