A growing number of President Donald Trump’s picks to independently audit federal agencies hail from politically appointed positions within the departments they’re tasked with overseeing.
John Walk on Wednesday will become the third inspector general candidate considered by a Senate panel this year after working directly with cabinet officials implementing presidential policies. Walk has served at the Agriculture Department as a political appointee since the first Trump administration, most recently as senior adviser to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins since June.
Congress created the independent watchdog role during the Carter administration to ensure federal agencies use taxpayer dollars effectively. The law ...