"President Trump has nominated a former White House official and Project 2025 author to be the Interior Department’s internal watchdog, a move that critics say could hurt the integrity of the office’s investigations.

Trump nominated Dennis Kirk, one of the authors of a chapter of the conservative policy playbook and a former official in the White House Office of Personnel Management during the first Trump administration, to be the department’s inspector general.

Mark Greenblatt, a former inspector general (IG) of the department, recently told The Hill that having someone with clear political leanings in the role of independent watchdog was unprecedented and could hamper investigations and compromise whistleblowers. 

“The chilling effect on whistleblowers is real,” Greenblatt said via text.  “Who would jeopardize their careers by submitting a complaint about an administration official to an IG who is avowedly aligned with the administration?”"

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill August 7, 2026. [2]