President Trump’s decision to nominate Dennis Kirk to serve as Inspector General of the Department of the Interior is a profound mistake. The Interior Department currently faces serious oversight questions, including matters involving decisions and projects closely associated with President Trump and the White House. The White House itself should want a genuinely independent inspector general for precisely this reason. I served as Inspector General of the Department of the Interior during President Trump’s first administration. Congress has expressly required in the Inspector General Act that IGs must be appointed “without regard to their political affiliation.”