Amid efforts by the Trump administration to "put an end to fraudulent and wasteful spending" and "enhance" accountability, two key offices charged with investigating fraud and holding scientists and institutions accountable for federal spending have seen top leadership depart.
At the National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the changes start at the top: Inspector General Allison Lerner is departing, and Megan Wallace, currently assistant inspector general for investigations at NSF, will become the acting inspector general, effective March 1. Last week, NSF fired about 10 percent of its staff, or 168 employees, Politico reported February 20, 2025. The move was "the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions", Micah Cheatham, NSF’s chief management officer, told staffers in a February 18, 2025 meeting at the agency, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Politico’s E&E News.
The mission of NSF’s OIG is "to provide independent oversight of the U.S. National Science Foundation to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and economy of its programs and operations and to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse".
