Weekly Spotlight: No to the Yes Man

DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE

Attorney General ≠ President’s Personal Lawyer

Todd Blanche, acting attorney general of the Department of Justice (DOJ), had his confirmation hearing last week to take on the role permanently. You deserve an attorney general who answers to the Constitution — not one who prioritizes loyalty to the president. Blanche was a personal lawyer to the president, defending him in several criminal cases. As deputy and acting attorney general, his continuing fealty to the president has shown itself in his actions and even in his words. Todd Blanche seems to think the role of attorney general is no different than being the president’s personal lawyer, and we cannot have that. The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently set to vote on Blanche’s nomination in the coming week. We have a few days to change the outcome.

• Blanche is responsible for creating the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund for the president as part of a settlement on the Trump v. IRS case. He also intended to give the president and his family sweeping immunity from audits of their past taxes. Just last week, a federal judge recommended disciplinary actions against him over the case.

WAR ON OVERSIGHT

What it would mean to abolish CIGIE

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is not a widely known federal entity, but it’s responsible for coordinating and supporting inspectors general, some of our first lines of defense against waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. This week, the House introduced and passed a bill out of committee that would abolish CIGIE and transfer its responsibilities to the Office of Management and Budget. If this bill were to become law, it would end independent oversight as you know it. POGO is already mobilizing oversight champions both inside and outside the government to save CIGIE — and we need you in that fight, too.

• TAKE ACTION Save CIGIE: A bill that would abolish the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is coming to Congress. We need to stop it.
• Our letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was entered into the hearing record. Read it now: Don’t Put Independent Watchdog Office Under White House Control
• “Handing CIGIE’s oversight authority to the White House is not a bureaucratic reshuffle — it is a direct threat to the checks and balances that keep our government honest and accountable,” says POGO’s Joe Spielberger in a new statement.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Hegseth in the hot seat

We have been urging Congress to call in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for sworn testimony on the Iran War, and this week it finally happened. The secretary appeared at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s hearing on the White House’s latest $67 billion supplemental funding request for the war in Iran. Hegseth was unable to answer basic questions and admitted outright that the “emergency” request was unrelated to the present needs of the war. Congress should not be giving the Pentagon another penny to sink into this illegal conflict — especially outside of the proper, bipartisan budgeting process.

• “If Congress is serious about bringing an end to this prolonged conflict, it must also refuse the administration’s request to fund it,” POGO’s David Janovsky tells Al Jazeera.
• The Pentagon claims the war has already cost a staggering $37.5 billion, and external estimates suggest that number is upwards of three times higher.
• The power of the purse is one of Congress’s most valuable levers to check the executive branch; your representatives must use it to force an end to this war.
• Hegseth stated months ago that Iran was “destroyed” and “made combat-ineffective." It begs the question of why the Pentagon needs more money if the war is as good as won, as the White House has repeatedly claimed.

Tracking Taxpayer Dollars: Fixing a Flawed System for Federal Spending Data

You should know where your tax dollars go. POGO conducted a review of 60 of the largest federal assistance programs that support U.S. families and public works. We found that 74% of federal grant funding could not be tracked down to the local level. That is $712.6 billion in tax dollars that you are unable to trace to your towns and communities to see their impact. By POGO’s Sean Moulton. Read the new report on pogo.org.

• Dig deeper with the expert: Watch Sean’s interview with The National News Desk.

House passes sham stock trading bill

We raised the alarm months ago about the Stop Insider Trading Act, a bill that is almost ironic in its name, given that it allows members, their spouses, and their dependents to continue owning the stocks they already have, purchasing corporate bonds, and even selling with just seven days’ notice. The House just passed that “ban.” You’re not fooled by this empty gesture, and neither are we. We need to make all the noise we can to make sure the Senate does not follow in the steps of the House. If Congress wants to earn your trust, it needs to pass real reform — not this joke.

SCOTUS WATCH

It’s time for term limits

Trust in our judicial branch is at an all-time low and continually sinking. Something must change to restore the public’s faith in the institution, and term limits are an excellent place to start. We support a new bill introduced by senators this week that would establish an 18-year term limit for justices. “Supreme Court justices hold too much power for too long. We applaud this common-sense solution to bring the Supreme Court in line with courts throughout the country and the world by ensuring regular turnover,” said POGO’s David Janovsky.