This is a guest post by Philip G. Joyce.
Over its more than 100 years of existence, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which serves as a support agency of Congress, has proved to be an essential tool for promoting fiscal responsibility, reducing waste in government, and supporting Congress in holding the executive branch accountable. In fulfilling its mission, it assists the Congress in ensuring that congressionally-mandated spending occurs consistent with the law, and in ways that do not promote waste and fraud. As such, GAO is one of the vital tools of congressional oversight.
In the past year, GAO has often found itself in a precarious position as it attempts to fulfill its statutory responsibility to identify presidential impoundments. The threat to GAO is even more acute because it is currently being led by an acting Comptroller General as a new head of the agency has yet to be named since the conclusion of Gene Dodaro’s term in December of 2025. An acting Comptroller General lacks the tenure protections and institutional authority of a Senate-confirmed Comptroller General, making them more exposed to political pressure or perceived as less able to withstand it. The Congress needs to insist that the next Comptroller General be someone who will continue to adhere to the core mission of the agency and protect the agency when it inevitably engages in activities that bring it into conflict with the executive branch.