Websites for inspectors general at USDA and other federal agencies are offline due to the Office of Management and Budget's freeze of funds for a little-known entity that trains and supports the IGs.
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) was informed late last month of OMB's policy decision to withhold fiscal 2026 funding “despite funds currently being available” in the agency’s no-year revolving account, Postal Service Inspector General and Acting CIGIE Chair Tammy Hull told lawmakers in a letter.
Under a no-year account, funds can be spent without fiscal year limitation.
CIGIE helps support agency whistleblower hotlines, auditor training, oversight of federal inspector general conduct and other federal watchdog functions. It hosts websites for inspector general offices at 28 agencies — including USDA’s, which is no longer accessible.
The funding freeze means the furloughing of 25 permanent employees, potential OIG website takedowns and a halt in training activities, warned Hull’s letter, which was obtained by Agri-Pulse.
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“This is a direct shot at IG independence,” said Mark Greenblatt, a former Interior Department Inspector General and CIGIE chair. He added that the halt in funds could have a “chilling effect” on IGs’ work, a prospect he says “should keep every American up at night.”
Some IG websites remain online, including those for inspector general offices at the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services.
“They are varying degrees of dark right now,” Greeblatt said of the 28 IG websites supported by CIGIE, adding that it will be difficult for members of the public to access investigation reports that were previously housed on websites that are no longer accessible.
The loss of funding also means that CIGIE training programs will be cancelled, requiring each inspector general office to “find, procure, and potentially administer their own training programs, which will significantly increase costs for each OIG,” Hull’s letter said. Last fiscal year, the agency saw nearly 5,700 students enroll in its training programs, many of which are focused on criminal investigator training, the letter said.
The agency’s “Integrity Committee,” which looks into allegations of inspector general wrongdoing, will also not operate as a result of the loss of funding. This means “allegations of wrongdoing will not be reviewed, and leaders of federal oversight agencies will seemingly be unchecked and unaccountable for their actions,” the letter said.
“[A]ny adverse consequences will be solely due to OMB’s decision not to apportion available funds, rather than any lapse in appropriations,” the two senators warned.
An OMB spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In her Sept. 27 letter, Hull said CIGIE had requested additional information from OMB, but had “yet to receive anything in writing to support such actions.” She also s
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Senate photo)aid the agency is “not aware of any applicable legal authorities to support withholding appropriated funds."
Hull added that “the shuttering of CIGIE will result in the loss of shared services and cost efficiencies that have been built up over the last 17 years to support the 72 Offices of Inspectors General, which will make those services more expensive for taxpayers.” In addition, it would “significantly impact critical efforts to reduce fraud, waste and abuse across the federal government.”
Inspector general offices across the federal government have already seen significant changes under the Trump administration. The president abruptly fired eight inspectors general in January, including former USDA IG Phyllis Fong. Last month, a federal judge found that the action violated a 1978 law requiring Congress to be notified in advance, but declined to order that the fired IGs be reinstated.
Inspector general offices have also lost “hundreds of key personnel” in the last year as a result of deferred resignations and retirements, 18 House Oversight Committee Democrats said in an August letter. Some offices also face hiring freezes and have been ordered to make RIF plans, they wrote.
"It is clear that some of OIGs’ critical functions have been seriously impacted by the shortages and staffing challenges,” they wrote.
Greenblatt said the loss of funding will have a limited impact on the day-to-day operations of individual IG offices, which have their own budgets. However, he said they will no longer be able to rely on CIGIE for some services.
He also said the action sends a message to agency IGs, encouraging them to not do work that puts them at odds with the administration.
“The big thing for Inspectors General is to be independent,” Greenblatt said. "We need to be independent of mind and body. And shutting down CIGIE is a shot across the bow that if you run afoul of the White House, they could fire you, defund you."
