In a six-week span during his presidency, Donald Trump fired four Inspector Generals. Upon taking office, President Biden promised that he wouldn’t fire any. But Biden’s promise assumed his Inspector General (IG) would actually do his job.
It turns out this assumption was wrong. We can see this in Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. Cuffari seems to be part of the “great cover-up” that unfolded after January 6th. First there was the “great deletion,” then the “great cancellation,” and then the “great forgetting-to-tell-Congress.” Cuffari is currently dragging his feet, stalling to see if more time will help his case.
Inspector Generals serve as watch dogs for the government. Each major department has an IG. Generally, IGs conduct independent, objective audits and investigations relating to their department’s programs and operations with the goal of preventing and detecting wasteful behavior, fraud, and abuse of power. The question now: should President Biden keep his promise?
Sources say Biden has not ruled out firing Cuffari.