Democratic senator's bill would prevent political appointees from serving as an IG
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is introducing legislation Friday that would put restraints on the current and former political appointees to be nominated as inspectors general.
The Inspector General's Independence Act would bar President Donald Trump and future presidents from nominating political appointees who have served or are serving in their administration from serving as an inspector general.
"Whether this is acquisitions or our VA or DoD or Commerce or HHS, inspectors general are supposed to be calling balls and strikes and be independent and say, 'Hey, you can't do that,'" Duckworth told ABC News. "But if you put a political appointee in that position they are going to lean in favor of who put them there."
The move comes nearly one year after the administration moved to unilaterally dismiss 17 inspectors general across a number of agencies at the beginning of Trump's second term.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pushed back on the administration's move at the time, raising concerns that the firing of inspectors generals would introduce partisanship into a role that is meant to serve as an independent watchdog. Lawsuits challenging the viability of those firings are going through the courts.
"There have been lawsuits that are in courts right now that say that those firings were illegal," Duckworth said. "So this piece of legislation in particular will make it very clear that what he did was illegal, and not just leave it to courts to interpret existing law."
Duckworth points to the nomination and subsequent Senate confirmation of Cheryl Mason as Veterans Affairs inspector general as one example of why the legislation is critical.
Mason was appointed to fill a vacancy left after the administration fired the previous inspector general. She was serving as a senior adviser to Trump's Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins at the time she was nominated by the president to serve as the department's IG.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in June, a number of Democratic lawmakers, including Duckworth, raised concerns about Mason's ability to serve as an independent watchdog for the agency she had served in as a political adviser.
Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, the committee chairman, also raised questions about how Mason would ensure her independence, but ultimately voted with all Republicans to confirm her.
Mason at the time vowed to serve as an independent actor, citing her years of experience at VA working at the Board of Veterans' Appeals before returning as an adviser. Her role as an adviser, she said at the time, was to gather information and convey it in a nonpartisan manner.
"I consider myself to be an impartial, independent aid to the department because that's my role," Mason told senators on the panel when questioned about her loyalty to the VA secretary. "I am loyal to the veterans. That's who I am loyal to."
"I work for the president and the secretary," Mason said in the hearing when pressed by Democrats about her independence. "But also if confirmed will work for this committee."
Mason was confirmed by the Senate in July by a vote of 53-45. No Democrats voted to confirm her.
Duckworth's legislation would have barred Mason from being nominated. Her bill, if passed, would prevent similar politically aligned nominees from serving as IGs.
The legislation is being co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Adam Schiff, Kirsten Gillibrand and Peter Welch. It does not currently have any Republican co-sponsors.
It's unclear whether it would have the necessary support to advance through either chamber of Congress, and unlikely that President Trump would sign it into law.
