Miller’s assurances indirectly address criticism that his current position in the White House counsel’s office would make him susceptible to Trump’s influence at a time when massive sums of taxpayer cash is flowing to rescue distressed industries and companies.
Trump has previously attacked inspectors general whose tenures overlapped with the Obama administration, even if they were career officials who predated Obama’s presidency. But in the one-page statement, Miller references his service during the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump.
“I have close to 30 years of experience in the Federal government,” he writes. “Fifteen years in the Department of Justice and nearly 10 years as the Senate confirmed Inspector General of the General Services Administration, serving across Republican and Democrat administrations.”
Miller’s pledge of independence comes amid Trump’s sweeping effort to clamp down on inspectors general, one of the few functioning checks on his administration’s actions. In recent weeks, Trump has fired the intelligence community’s Senate-confirmed watchdog, demoted the inspector general charged with overseeing coronavirus response efforts and tapped a replacement for the Health and Human Services inspector general who he has attacked without evidence as an anti-Trump partisan.
Trump’s nomination of a member of his White House counsel’s office compounded the sense of alarm among Democrats who described these actions as an assault on independent oversight of the administration. Some Republicans, too, have gently encouraged Trump to reconsider his handling of inspectors general, who have long enjoyed bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.
Trump also signaled in a signing statement accompanying the CARES Act that he views as optional a requirement that the new inspector general report any investigatory obstacles to Congress. Trump indicated he views any such requirement for an Executive Branch official to consult with Congress or report allegations of stonewalling to be unconstitutional without his permission.
Source: politico.com
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