Inspectors general at energy and environmental agencies should keep their funding after a tumultuous year of the Trump administration.
The internal watchdogs that root out waste and fraud at EPA as well as at the departments of Energy and the Interior maintain relatively level spending for fiscal 2026 in a minibus package that is moving through Congress. Escaping severe budget cuts is a welcome turn for the IG offices, which have seen top-level firings, staff departures and even going offline temporarily over the past year.
Under the appropriations measure, EPA’s Office of Inspector General will receive almost $43.3 million along with an additional roughly $11.3 million transfer from a Superfund account for this fiscal year. That was the same funding slated for the watchdog in fiscal 2025. It also matches the Trump administration’s latest budget request for the office.
“The OIG is well-positioned to continue our oversight work at pace,” EPA OIG spokesperson Kim Wheeler told POLITICO’s E&E News. “In parallel, we are developing hiring plans and assessing our processes and technology to identify opportunities for greater efficiency.”
