A former New Jersey congressman was praised on some corners of the internet for his “brutal” takedown of businessman Kevin O’Leary, who said it’s about time the U.S. government be audited.
O’Leary, a host of the show “Shark Tank,” went back and forth with Tom Malinowski as the two discussed the Department of Government Efficiency run by world’s richest man Elon Musk and whether the massive and controversial cuts to federal employment and grants will be effective.
O’Leary said on CNN, “We’ve never audited the government for 100 years.”
That prompted this response from the former lawmaker:
“It helps to know some things if we’re going to have this debate. Every agency of the federal government is audited by independent inspectors general. USAID was audited over 60 times last year and one of the first things that Donald Trump and Elon Musk did was to fire all of the inspectors general,” Malinowski said.
“They fired the auditors and they put in charge this billionaire with his 50 child interns who know absolutely nothing about the federal government,” he said.
Malinowski continued: “It might work for a company that makes widgets because we can do without the company that makes widgets for a few months while you get in there, you restructure it. You can’t do that to the FAA unless people aren’t going to fly in planes for the next four or five months. You can’t do that to the defense department unless you don’t want to defend this country for the next four of five months. It’s ridiculous that we’re even having this argument. And I’m someone who believes there’s waste in government.”
Late last month, the Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies, a sweeping action that removed oversight of his new administration that some members of Congress are suggesting violated federal oversight laws.
The role of the modern-day inspector general dates to post-Watergate Washington, when Congress installed offices inside agencies as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of power. Though inspectors general are presidential appointees, some serve presidents of both parties. All are expected to be nonpartisan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.