When the autopsy is conducted, the time of death for independent oversight of government agencies will be noted as 7:48 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

That was when 17 inspectors general — presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed — across the federal government were sacked from their positions in the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies due to “changing priorities.”

Apart from questions about procedural legality, the dismissals sent a chilling message to federal inspectors general across government: The more than 45 years of bipartisan support for independent oversight — oversight that has demonstrably improved government services and saved billions of taxpayer dollars — may be coming to an end.

Inspectors general work inside federal agencies to improve government efficiency and effectiveness through audits, inspections and investigations. But in order to speak hard truths to leaders about agency shortcomings, they rely on their authorities under

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