WASHINGTON, D.C. – Trump Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was forced to reverse course and restore funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), the independent federal watchdog group that works to root out corruption and misuse of federal funds and operates a confidential hotline and website so whistleblowers can come forward with concerns. The reversal follows an October letter from Sen. Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, to Vought, demanding OMB release funding he illegally blocked.

“I’m glad OMB restored $4.3 million in funding to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), as I demanded in my October 6 letter to OMB Director Vought,” Sen. Cantwell stated. “But let me be clear: This funding never should have been withheld in the first place. Director Vought’s illegal action undermined CIGIE’s ability to perform its essential functions and whistleblowers’ ability to confidentially raise concerns. We should be bolstering our efforts to combat waste, fraud, and corruption—not weakening them.”

In October 2025, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to Vought, demanding that he reverse his illegal action to withhold funding for CIGIE, which operates a whistleblower hotline and website on behalf of independent inspectors general including for the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

“OMB is withholding these funds even though Congress has already appropriated funding to support these vital whistleblower resources, even during a government shutdown,” Sen. Cantwell wrote in the letter to Vought. “In other words, it appears the Trump Administration is not only illegally withholding congressional funding once again; it is choosing to undermine efforts to prevent corruption and combat misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

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