Ranking Member Morelle Demands GOP Restore Public Access to IG Reports After Trump Defunds CIGIE

Rochester, New York – Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25), the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, called on Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to establish a dedicated platform to host Legislative Branch Inspector General reports. 

Last month, the Trump Administration illegally defunded the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), the independent body that supports, coordinates, and holds accountable all 72 Executive and Legislative Branch offices of inspector general (OIG). CIGIE has long-hosted public inspector general (IG) reports documenting waste, fraud, and abuse across the government through its now-offline Oversight.gov platform.

“Even though CIGIE is part of the Executive Branch, Oversight.gov is used to host Legislative Branch OIG reports. As a result, reports documenting fraud, waste, and abuse in our own Legislative Branch agencies are no longer publicly available,” wrote Ranking Member Joe Morelle. “The Executive Branch’s failure to provide duly appropriated funds to CIGIE should not impede Congress’s ability to provide transparency about the Legislative Branch.”

Ranking Member Joe Morelle urged GOP leadership to partner with the House Chief Administrative Officer and Senate Sergeant at Arms to establish an independent platform that would ensure Legislative Branch agency transparency and accountability. 

Congress established CIGIE in 2008 as the “watchdog of the watchdogs” and the umbrella organization that provides trainings, standards, and coordination for the nation’s federal IG community. CIGIE already has funds available in its account to support its FY2026 activities, but the Office of Management and Budget has refused to apportion those funds as required by law.  

Ranking Member Morelle also condemned the Administration’s decision to defund CIGIE as both hypocritical and dangerous.

“At the same time the Administration is invoking exaggerated and false claims of fraud, waste, and abuse to justify dismantling vital Executive Branch agencies, it is also silencing the independent watchdogs best equipped to expose actual misconduct. Creating a dedicated platform for Legislative Branch OIG reports would be a modest but essential step to ensure that Congress is transparent with the American people and accountable for the agencies we oversee,” concluded Ranking Member Joe Morelle.

Click here to read today’s letter to Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune.

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The Committee on House Administration’s jurisdiction includes federal elections, House operations, Capitol Complex security, the Smithsonian Institution, and Legislative Branch agencies such as the Library of Congress and Government Publishing Office.