WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30, 2025 – The Trump Administration has announced plans to cut off funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), the umbrella group that supports 72 inspectors general across the federal government. CIGIE, which serves as the watchdog of watchdogs, is an indispensable hub for rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. In response, Whistleblower Aid Chief Legal Counsel and former Inspector General Senior Investigator Andrew Bakaj issued the following statement:

“An attack of this magnitude on CIGIE is a direct, full-frontal assault on whistleblowers who are indispensable to the very function of democracy. The American people must understand what is at stake here: without CIGIE, the inspector general community will be fragmented, vulnerable to the whims of an authoritarian President, and far less capable of investigating the truth that whistleblowers put everything on the line to relay to them. Let’s call this what it is – President Trump is taking the final steps to shut down meaningful scrutiny of illegal or unethical behavior within his administration. Having already fired over at least 17 Inspectors General in January, eliminating CIGIE’s funding completes the dismantlement of the very infrastructure that ensures inspectors general can act independently and without fear of political interference.

Without effective inspectors general, whistleblowers are not only limited in where they can disclose corruption and abuse, they are effectively dissuaded from doing so. As a result, our country is less of a democracy and more like the very autocracies our nation has fought wars to liberate those suffering under oppressive dictators. Congress must act immediately to restore CIGIE’s funding and safeguard the watchdogs who uphold our democracy. If this decision stands, we risk silencing brave truth tellers willing to hold this administration accountable.”