Kyla Bennett, director of science policy for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said about EPA and Defense, “They are consistently butting heads.”

“It is going to cost billions of dollars for the Department of Defense to clean up the communities around them,” Bennett said about PFAS contamination. “You have these two federal agencies who are in direct conflict with each other, and that’s troubling. The Department of Defense has so much more power than EPA.”

She, however, said O’Donnell is doing “a great job” as EPA IG, noting his office’s investigation of claims made by whistleblowers represented by PEER.

“I would love for him to stay at EPA and focus all his attention on EPA,” Bennett said.