Statement on Nomination of DOI Inspector General
Mark Lee Greenblatt Calls on Senate to Reject Nomination of Dennis Kirk
Bethesda, MD, August 10, 2026 — President Trump’s nomination of Dennis Kirk to serve as Inspector General of the Department of the Interior raises serious concerns about the independence and credibility of one of the federal government’s most important watchdog offices.
Mr. Kirk is not an experienced auditor, investigator, prosecutor, or oversight professional. He is a partisan operative who was an architect of Project 2025, a political initiative and policy playbook published by The Heritage Foundation. And earlier in President Trump’s second term, the administration reportedly installed Mr. Kirk as a mole inside the Office of the Intelligence Community Inspector General, a move that drew criticism from lawmakers and watchdog advocates concerned about blurring the line between those being investigated and those charged with conducting the investigations.
This is not about whether Mr. Kirk is capable or well-intentioned. It is about whether appointing a political operative to lead an independent watchdog office creates a structural conflict that undermines public confidence in the office’s independence.
That concern is especially acute because the Interior Department faces significant oversight matters involving the Trump administration and White House, including serious questions surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. If Mr. Kirk is confirmed, it will be extraordinarily difficult for the Office of Inspector General to conduct a review of such matters that the public will view as genuinely independent.
That should concern the White House, too. Independent oversight does not exist simply to uncover wrongdoing. It can also exonerate officials incorrectly accused of wrongdoing. But those findings are credible only when the public trusts the person and institution conducting the investigation.
I know this firsthand. I served as Interior Department Inspector General during President Trump’s first administration. My office investigated the highly charged clearing of Lafayette Park and ultimately found that the evidence did not support the central allegation that the Park Police cleared the park to facilitate President Trump’s visit to St. John’s Church. That finding had credibility because we followed the evidence without regard to politics and because our independence was unquestioned.
Inspectors general must be able to investigate the administration that appointed them without fear or favor. Mr. Kirk’s political background and close ties to this administration make it impossible for him to credibly meet that fundamental test.
The Senate should reject this nomination. It owes the American people an Inspector General whose independence is beyond question—someone they can trust to protect their tax dollars, expose wrongdoing, and hold government accountable regardless of where the facts lead.
Mark Lee Greenblatt is a former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior and Chair of the Council of Inspectors General, as well as the author of Valor: Unsung Heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front (Rowman & Littlefield). More information about Greenblatt is available at www.markleegreenblatt.com.