Pompeo's new acting inspector general is already creating a conflict of interest
On Friday, President Trump announced the firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, based on the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a move that surprised official Washington and infuriated Democrats. Now, there is additional concern about Linick’s replacement, Stephen Akard, who is already on the job — and is also keeping his existing State Department position, setting up a clear conflict of interest.
According to the law, the administration must notify Congress 30 days in advance before firing an inspector general. But multiple sources told me that Linick’s last day was Friday, the same day Congress learned about his ouster. Akard showed up at the office on Monday morning and immediately assumed the boss’s role. Yet Akard is keeping his job as the head of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions, a Senate-confirmed political appointee position he has held since September. Adding the inspector general’s job to his duties essentially means he will be overseeing himself.
“The independence of inspectors general is paramount. Embedding a political ally to serve as IG who is still working in the very agency they are supposed to oversee is very problematic and an affront to that independence,” Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told me. “I have trouble seeing how Ambassador Akard could fulfill those duties effectively given the circumstances and without stepping down from his current role.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The Office of Foreign Missions has the job of supporting more than 800 U.S. embassies and consular offices around the world and over 100,000 diplomatic staff serving abroad, as well as dealing with foreign diplomats inside the United States. Before he joined State, Akard served as chief of staff at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation under then-Gov. Mike Pence. A former career foreign service officer, in 2018 he withdrew his nomination to be director general of the Foreign Service, following criticism that he was not senior enough for that role.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/20/pompeos-new-acting-inspector-general-is-already-creating-conflict-interest/
