Committee member criticizes limited oversight, raises concerns about inspector general nominees

An unidentified senator opened remarks to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by criticizing the panel’s oversight record and raising concerns about two nominees for inspector general.

"I’m disappointed that we have had, almost no opportunity, to conduct public oversight of this administration and its top officials, after they have been confirmed," the Unidentified Senator said, adding that "since the beginning of this year, you have held just 1 hearing… and that was more than 6 months ago." The senator contrasted that with serving as chairman earlier in the previous administration, when the panel had 10 hearings at the same point in the first year.

The senator urged Chairman Paul to "call on the leaders of DHS, the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center to testify before this committee before the end of the year," saying the committee’s annual threats hearing is a critical opportunity for the public to hear from national security leaders.

Turning to nominations, the senator said the administration has mounted an "unprecedented attack on the independence of inspectors general," calling them "nonpartisan watchdogs responsible for combating waste, fraud, and abuse across the government." The senator asserted that "since taking office, President Trump has fired 19 inspectors general and not once did he provide the legally required notification or explanation to Congress," and added that an acting inspector general at the Federal Housing Finance Agency was removed two weeks earlier in what the senator described as "apparent act[s] of retaliation." (Allegations and characterizations are those of the speaker.)

The senator named Thomas March Bell as the nominee for inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services and said, if confirmed, Bell would oversee a department with roughly a $2.3 trillion budget and more than 100 programs. The senator criticized Bell’s record as partisan, saying Bell "led a partisan investigation into an alleged sale of fetal tissue for profit, a claim that has already been thoroughly investigated and thoroughly debunked," and asserting Bell has "placed politics with every oversight role that he has had." The senator also said Bell is "currently" investigating a Democratic fundraising platform while not investigating a Republican counterpart that faces "the exact same issues." These are allegations reported as made by the Unidentified Senator.

The senator also raised concerns about President Trump’s nominee for inspector general at the Department of Agriculture, identified in the transcript as John Walk. The Unidentified Senator said Walk is serving "as senior adviser to the secretary of agriculture and as the acting director of [a department office]," and questioned whether someone closely tied to department leadership could provide independent oversight, saying "we can't" trust he will act impartially.

The Unidentified Senator closed by thanking the nominees and saying they looked forward to asking and hearing questions from them during the hearing.

The hearing continued into questioning; no formal votes or motions were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.