WASHINGTON, D.C. — Seventy-four Inspectors General (IGs) government watchdogs could be immediately fired if Project 2025 comes to fruition.

Revealed in a new Public Citizen analysis, the 920-page “Mandate For Leadership” briefing book lists in-depth plans to weaken anti-corruption laws, replace qualified experts with political cronies and weaponize the Dept. of Justice to target local elected officials and election administrators. In one of its corresponding “Presidential Administration Academy” video trainings, two Project 2025 leaders say that, upon election, the next U.S. president should replace the independent Inspectors General (IGs) working to oversee federal operations and detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct throughout 74 federal programs. The Project 2025 leaders said the next president should instead install “their own IGs” so that they “have control of the people that work within the government.”

The report’s author and Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger called his findings in the right-wing presidential playbook “a threat to knock down the walls that keep corruption from running rampant.”

“Replacing nonpartisan, independent Inspectors General with loyal political cronies would mean more government fraud, waste, and abuse and cost taxpayers millions,” said Golinger. “The whole point of Inspectors General is to have objective government watchdogs who are there to identify problems and propose solutions without regard to political pressure.  Wiping out independent IGs would make our government less efficient and effective.”

In response to previous threats to the independence of Inspectors General, Congress passed a suite of bipartisan reforms in late 2022, including strengthening presidential notification requirements to Congress when removing an Inspector General and requiring a president to provide an explanation to Congress if they fail to nominate an Inspector General.

Faith Williams, Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) said the idea of summarily dismissing all 74 inspectors general “flies in the face of these recent improvements to Inspector General independence.”

“To operate effectively, Inspectors General need independence from both the agency they are overseeing, and from the president,” said Williams.

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