Trump removes independent watchdog for coronavirus funds, upending oversight panel

NOMINATIONS & APPOINTMENTS

Five Nominations Sent to the Senate
Issued on: April 6, 2020

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Jason Abend, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Defense, vice Jon T. Rymer, resigned.

Katherine A. Crytzer, of Tennessee, to be Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority, vice Richard W. Moore, resigned.

Andrew A. De Mello, of Massachusetts, to be Inspector General, Department of Education, vice Kathleen S. Tighe, resigned.

Brian D. Miller, of Virginia, to be Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. (New Position)

Peter Michael Thomson, of Louisiana, to be Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency, vice David B. Buckley, resigned.

CORONAVIRUS

Trump taps longtime GSA watchdog as coronavirus relief inspector general

Brian Miller spent nearly 10 years as the inspector general of the General Services Administration.

By KYLE CHENEY

04/03/2020 09:58 PM EDT

Updated: 04/04/2020 01:20 PM EDT

President Donald Trump plans to tap Brian Miller, a White House lawyer and former federal watchdog, to oversee the new $500 billion coronavirus relief fund housed in the Treasury Department.

Miller, who joined Trump's office of White House counsel after a stint in the private sector, spent nearly 10 years as the inspector general of the General Services Administration, where he handled a string of high-profile waste, fraud and abuse cases — including an investigation of a lavish Las Vegas conference hosted by the GSA in 2010.

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Upon confirmation, Miller will be watched closely because he's tasked with the most direct role in monitoring Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he doles out the $500 billion to distressed industries, businesses and local governments. Congress included a provision requiring the new inspector to report directly to lawmakers if he or she is "unreasonably" blocked from accessing information. But Trump indicated he intends to ignore that provision, calling it an unconstitutional imposition by Congress on the executive branch.

Rather, Trump said, the decision to share such information with Congress would be up to him.

Though inspectors general technically serve as executive branch officials, they typically occupy an independent lane insulated from politics. Trump's pick of a current White House lawyer, despite his history as an inspector general, quickly raised alarms for some worried about Miller's independence from the president.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply rejected Miller’s selection, saying the new watchdog must have independence from the White House.

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