In a new op-ed in The Hill, PFAW Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg emphasizes the importance of independent oversight of the Trump administration actions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for Republicans and Democrats to work together to ensure that relief funds are safeguarded and distributed appropriately.
Not only has President Trump systematically removed inspectors general charged with monitoring the coronavirus relief effort, he has also nominated Brian Miller, a member of his White House counsel, who worked on his impeachment defense, as the inspector general called for in the CARES relief bill. While Democrats spoke out against this nomination, stating that Miller wasn’t at all an independent party, Republicans had little to say.
“People are dying every day from the deadly virus, and Americans desperately need the funds that Congress appropriated for relief. We cannot afford any waste, fraud or abuse. As then-Sen. Harry Truman said in calling for oversight of government defense spending in the lead-up to World War II, we need “every safeguard possible” to prevent the “sacred funds” from “being misused and mishandled.” Republicans must join with Democrats and insist on transparent and effective oversight of COVID-19 relief spending.”