Congresswoman concerned acting leader of Commerce Department watchdog was previously removed from the position

A senior congresswoman who in 2024 successfully urged the removal of the acting inspector general for the Commerce Department is concerned that the same individual is now leading the office again following President Donald Trump’s purge of the watchdogs. 

Former DOC IG Peggy Gustafson resigned in January 2024 after a Project on Government Oversight investigation found that she exposed a whistleblower’s identity. 

Following her resignation, Roderick Anderson, who has been deputy inspector general since 2019, took over in an acting capacity. However, Reps. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the then-leaders of the House Science Committee, urged former President Joe Biden to replace Anderson with someone who was not serving in the DOC OIG. 

“The committee has reviewed credible evidence that some senior officials participated in alleged misconduct, other senior officials claimed to be the victims of it and some may have both furthered alleged misconduct and been subject to it themselves. The muddled nature of the situation reflects the dysfunctional professional environment within the DOC OIG during IG Gustafson’s tenure,” they wrote in a March 2024 letter. 

Biden adhered to their request and in May named Jill Baisinger, a senior official in the Interior Department’s OIG, as acting DOC IG. 

But Baisinger was removed by Trump in January as part of the mass firing of IGs, leaving Anderson, once again, as acting IG for DOC. This news was first reported by POGO. 

“Whether Trump meant to reinstall a watchdog who had previously been removed via bipartisan request or whether it was an unanticipated consequence of his attempted purge is unknown,” wrote Julienne McClure, a POGO research associate. “But Anderson’s return — coincidental or not — raises questions of whether whistleblowers will feel safe reporting issues to an acting inspector general with his alleged entanglements, and how they might be treated when they do.” 

Lofgren said in a statement to Government Executive that her worries about Anderson have not been assuaged.

“The work of the Commerce Department OIG is more important than ever as President Trump and Elon Musk continue their assault on the federal government. The concerns I expressed alongside Chairman Lucas last March have not changed,” she said. 

Lucas, who is no longer the top Republican on the House Science Committee, did not respond to a request for comment. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, the current chairman of the panel, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who lead the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the DOC IG, did not respond to a request for comment. 

The DOC OIG said in a statement that it “has been — and remains — committed to ensuring a healthy, collaborative and productive work environment, and to working with department leadership, Congress and other stakeholders to promote greater departmental efficiency and effectiveness and combat fraud, waste and abuse.” 

The office also said that Anderson “has been instrumental in raising OIG’s operations to their current state.” 

It pointed out that the DOC OIG has substantially improved its engagement and satisfaction score, as measured by the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, from 56 in 2020 to 80.7 in 2024.