Since President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 of the agency watchdogs at the start of his second term, most of the individuals who have been approved as replacements previously worked in the first or second Trump administration, which government oversight advocates argue threatens the independent nature of IG offices. Most recently, he served as a senior adviser in the office he now leads and had a stint as acting DOJ IG from October 2025 through January 2026 but was limited by rules for how long an individual can serve in an acting position. Baldis, a former Senate staffer, has been the designee of the agency’s acting chief since spring 2025 while also serving as OSC’s chief counsel.