“WHAT EXACTLY WILL THIS MEAN FOR US”: EPA OFFICE LOST AFTER IG SHAKE UP

Eighty-three pages of correspondence illustrate an agency watchdog caught off guard, with next to no warning from the White House, coming up with plans on the fly. Not only had Trump weakened oversight of both EPA and DOD, he effectively removed Fine as Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), creating a void of leadership overseeing the government’s coronavirus response. As a pandemic grips the nation, and the massive governmentwide relief effort including EPA and  DOD faces scrutiny over policy rollbacks and misuse of taxpayer funds, none of these IG offices has a leader that can devote their full energy to oversight of its programs.