FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
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Lawsuit Filed to Protect Crucial Oversight Watchdogs From Trump-Vance Administration Assault
Unlawful Defunding of Inspectors General Council Part of Administration’s Effort to Mask Conduct, Avoid Transparency and Accountability
Greenbelt, MD — A coalition of nonprofit organizations are uniting to defend the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) from a Trump-Vance administration attempt to defund it. CIGIE coordinates oversight efforts across federal agencies and supports the work of more than 70 Offices of Inspector General (OIGs) – the independent watchdogs responsible for rooting out waste, fraud, misconduct, and corruption in the federal government.
In a complaint filed in federal court in the District of Maryland today, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Government Accountability Project (GAP), and Project On Government Oversight (POGO) are asking the court to prevent the Trump-Vance administration from unlawfully defunding the work of CIGIE. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in the case.
”During this time of rising lawlessness and corruption, CIGIE plays a vital role in helping make our government more transparent and accountable to Congress and the American people,” said Joanna Citron Day, General Counsel at PEER. “CIGIE and Inspectors General help expose and address capricious, corrupt and revenge-based agendas within the federal government and save taxpayers money. The Trump-Vance administration attempt to defund CIGE is part of a broader effort to weaken the ability of Inspectors General to carry out their responsibilities in a non-partisan manner.”
“The administration justified the firing of Inspectors General and defunding of CIGIE as part of a war against fraud, waste and abuse, yet these are the very entities on the frontlines of that war, investigating wrongdoing and protecting whistleblowers from retaliation,” said Dana Gold, Government Accountability Project’s Senior Counsel and Director of its Democracy Protection Initiative. “The White House needs to put its money where its rhetoric is.”
“We rely on the executive branch’s watchdogs, the Inspectors General, to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and hold their affiliated agency accountable,” said Scott Amey, General Counsel at POGO. “By defunding a critical resource for watchdog offices and whistleblowers, the government is ignoring Congress’ spending mandates and stomping on oversight and accountability systems that protect federal agencies and taxpayers. While the council was shut down in 2025, POGO, and others in our community, were shut off from reports and systems that we use regularly to highlight government malfeasance and inform the federal government and public about potential corruption and abuse of power.”
“The Trump-Vance administration appears to be trying to make grifting great again,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Inspectors General play a critical role in investigating waste, fraud, and abuse on behalf of the American people. This attempt to undermine and eliminate those responsible for independent oversight smacks of corruption and begs the question: What is the administration hiding? Democracy Forward is honored to work with advocates for governmental oversight to challenge the administration’s attempts to avoid transparency and accountability.”
“Without inspectors general, waste, fraud and abuse goes unchecked and costs taxpayers millions,” said Nikhel Sus, Deputy Chief Counsel at CREW. “The Trump-Vance administration has attacked inspectors general from the very beginning, and attempting to defund CIGIE is just the latest example of their campaign to purge the government of independent watchdogs. CREW is proud to work with this coalition to defend oversight and challenge the administration’s attempts to dodge accountability.”
OIGs are a crucial component of good governance, acting as the independent watchdogs who root out waste, fraud, and corruption in the federal government. Over the last four years alone, OIGs have achieved potential savings of approximately $309 billion. Congress has routinely endorsed the mission and work of government watchdogs, expanding the number of Inspectors General required by law three times in order to improve each OIG’s independence, transparency, and accountability.
Though the Office of Management and Budget has no authority to defund a congressionally created entity like CIGIE, or to provide an entity less than full funding for reasons not based in law, it has done exactly that. OMB first refused to fund CIGIE from October 1 through November 17, 2025, despite having funds available. OMB then issued CIGIE only an inadequate fraction of its funds for limited purposes until January 30, 2026, while issuing zero funds for the remainder of fiscal year 2026.
In today’s filing, the coalition is asking a court to order OMB to issue the funding guaranteed by law to CIGIE, and to stop the government from efforts to limit the ability of OIGs to do their important work.
The case is Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility et al v. OMB et al, and the legal team at Democracy Forward in this case includes Kali Schellenberg, Amy Vickery, Webb Lyons, Steve Bressler, Elena Goldstein, and Skye Perryman.
Read the full complaint here.
PEER protects public employees who protect our environment. We are a service organization for environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. We work with current and former federal, state, local and tribal employees.
