Removed Acting Commerce IG Returns in Wake of Trump’s IG Purge

Roderick Anderson, the former acting inspector general of the U.S. Department of Commerce, who was removed from his position at the request of Congress, has returned to the role of Commerce watchdog in the wake of President Donald Trump’s attempted mass purge of inspectors general in January. The attempted purge has been seen by some advocates and lawmakers as an attack on democracy, as inspectors general serve as a crucial bulwark against corruption and abuse. 

Anderson previously served as deputy inspector general under former Commerce Inspector General Peggy Gustafson. Members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology began investigating Gustafson and other senior members of the Commerce watchdog office in April 2023, after receiving reports that Gustafson retaliated against a whistleblower in her agency. POGO previously reported that the committee’s investigation revealed that Gustafson intentionally compromised a whistleblower’s identity by circulating a private, unredacted version of a congressional letter that contained their name. In January 2024, Gustafson abruptly resigned, leaving Anderson, formerly deputy inspector general, in the position of acting inspector general. 

However, a mere three months into his tenure, House committee leaders released preliminary findings from their investigation that revealed Anderson had been among those senior officials implicated in the investigation into alleged whistleblower retaliation. Little has been disclosed about Anderson’s role in the incident, but a bipartisan letter from then-House Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) urged President Joe Biden to remove Anderson and replace him with someone from outside the office due to being “entangled in the allegations” and senior leadership’s role in fostering a “dysfunctional professional environment.”

Biden subsequently removed Anderson, who returned to his previous position as deputy inspector general in May 2024. Biden then installed Jill Baisinger, a long-time member of the federal watchdog community who had worked in senior positions within the inspector general offices of the Departments of State and the Interior. The then-chairman and ranking member of the investigating committee praised the decision, writing, “We’re pleased to see our call was heeded. This is a win for good government and evidence of the value of strong bipartisan Congressional oversight.”

In January, only days after returning to office, President Trump tried to purge over a dozen inspectors general, removing Baisinger and leaving Anderson once again in charge of the Commerce inspector general’s office. The attempted purge has sparked bipartisan outcry. It came without regard for the congressionally mandated requirement that the president alert Congress 30 days prior to an inspector general’s removal and inform them of the reasons behind it. Because the mass firings appear to have violated federal law, at least one inspector general reportedly planned to continue to go to work the Monday after having been “fired” by Trump. Moreover, because Baisinger had yet to be nominated or confirmed by the Senate, it’s unclear whether the law, which aimed to protect inspectors general, should have insulated her given her status as acting inspector general.   

Whether Trump meant to reinstall a watchdog who had previously been removed via bipartisan request or whether it was an unanticipated consequence of his attempted purge is unknown. But Anderson’s return — coincidental or not — raises questions of whether whistleblowers will feel safe reporting issues to an acting inspector general with his alleged entanglements, and how they might be treated when they do. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.