Trump Taps a Permanent DOJ Watchdog as Oversight Concerns Mount

The White House has nominated Don Berthiaume, a veteran federal watchdog attorney, as the Justice Department’s inspector general, filling a vacancy at an office that’s been criticized for not investigating Trump administration misconduct.

Berthiaume, whom President Donald Trump first appointed as acting head of DOJ’s Office of Inspector General in October, now awaits Senate confirmation for the role at a precarious period for independent oversight of the executive branch—and at DOJ in particular. Trump fired numerous agency IGs in the first week of his current term but spared DOJ’s watchdog, who then left voluntarily in July. The department’s watchdog ...