The Trump administration recently appointed a former White House official, Dennis Kirk, as part of the Inspector General’s office at the Interior Department, according to a statement from House Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman. The IG’s office, which is responsible for overseeing public lands and national monuments, is supposed to be independent. However, concerns are being raised about Kirk’s placement due to his previous affiliation with the Trump administration.
Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, criticized the move, labeling Kirk as a ‘fake and fraudulent watchdog.’ He warned that Kirk would act in service of Donald Trump. John Bell, a spokesperson for the Inspector General’s office at the Interior Department, chose not to comment on the issue. Attempts to contact Kirk via email were met with no immediate response, although the email did not bounce back like a test email sent to a fake address at the same domain.
Kirk was previously involved in the White House Office of Personnel Management during Trump’s first term. He also contributed to a chapter of the Project 2025 Republican policy playbook. This isn’t his first assignment in an Inspector General’s office; reports indicate that Tulsi Gabbard, then-Director of National Intelligence, placed him in a similar position last year.
Mark Greenblatt, a former IG for the Interior, called the appointment of Kirk unprecedented and a potential threat to the independence of investigations. Greenblatt, who was removed during a purge of inspectors general last year, emphasized the risks this move could pose to whistleblower protection. “If a political staffer is present, the confidential identities of whistleblowers could be compromised,” he stated.
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- Iran and Oman are nearing a deal that could grant them joint control over the Strait of Hormuz, a significant concession to Tehran.
- The Trump administration invests over $1 billion in paying a company to relinquish rights to offshore wind production.
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- Representative Spanberger takes an unusual step in intervening in the $67 billion Dominion-NextEra merger (Virginia Mercury).
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