The only official with the statutory power to sue the executive branch over illegally withholding congressionally-appropriated funds—the Comptroller General of the United States, who leads the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—is set to leave office on December 29th, when his 15-year term expires. His departure will leave one of the few agencies that has served as a check on the executive branch’s power without a permanent leader. The GAO, a nonpartisan, independent legislative branch agency known as Congress’s watchdog, audits federal spending and conducts oversight that results in billions in taxpayer savings each year. Notably, the comptroller general is specifically authorized under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) to sue the executive branch for violations of the ICA. In 2025, the GAO found that the Trump administration violated the ICA multiple times, and reportedly has dozens of investigations in progress for potential ICA violations. 

Although the GAO works for Congress and audits executive branch agencies, its impact extends far beyond these government bodies. Its work directly affects the public’s day to day lives. Beyond its enforcement of the ICA and making sure funds appropriated by Congress are used properly, the GAO has worked on issues as varied as the enforcement of campaign finance laws (an issue crucial to CREW’s work, where it has provided insight that would be difficult for outside groups to obtain), monitoring of weather satellites and identifying potential fraud in healthcare tax credits. In all of these areas and the many more GAO works on, Congress, the executive and the American public can trust its work because of its independence, and undermining that could lead to serious consequences. Congress might not get the information it needs to legislate, fraud and waste could go unidentified and taxpayers could lose out on substantial savings—in the 20 years leading up to 2021, the GAO’s work resulted in over $1.2 trillion in benefits to the federal government. 

Since taking office for his second term, Donald Trump and his administration have made it their mission to hobble federal agencies, working to gut the civil service and install loyalists that can serve as yes-men for the president. Congress must ensure that the GAO, whose credibility rests on its nonpartisan, fact-based investigations, does not become similarly compromised and weakened. 

Here’s what should happen when there is a vacancy: The law requires the outgoing comptroller general—and only the comptroller general—to appoint an acting comptroller general to lead the agency in their stead. (Orice Williams Brown has been named as the acting comptroller general by the departing comptroller general, and is slated to take office in a few weeks, as the law requires.) The law then dictates that a commission made up of members of Congress from both parties create a list of suggested nominees to fill the position. They then send that list to the president, who should select—and historically has selected—the official nominee based on the commission’s recommendations. Once the president has selected a nominee, the Senate considers whether to confirm the nominee, serving as a critical final check in the nomination and appointment process. Both the establishment of a bipartisan commission and the requirement of Senate confirmation help ensure that the incoming comptroller general is qualified and equipped to carry out GAO’s accountability work in an effective, independent manner.

The GAO is intended to serve as a watchdog for the entire federal government, one trusted and relied upon by members of Congress from both houses and both sides of the aisle. Its independence allows the agency to ask hard questions, conduct thorough investigations and hold the executive branch publicly accountable. Given the Trump administration’s repeated attempts to grab power, we especially need a functioning GAO led by an impartial comptroller general whose focus is on serving the people, not political allegiance. 

In the coming weeks, Congress must ensure the process of selecting a new comptroller general occurs as required by law, with a bipartisan commission selecting candidates who are qualified and impartial as well as a robust Senate confirmation process for the selected nominee. The public must also be ready to hold Congress and President Trump accountable should they fail to install an independent leader at a time when the executive branch desperately needs oversight, and the American public desperately needs reliable, independent insight into their government.