By Voice & Viewpoint Staff
As reported on February 12th, 2025 by MSNBC, Former Chairman of the Council of Inspectors General for Small Business Administration, Hannibal “Mike” Ware, was abruptly fired from his role and explains why he joined the class action lawsuit against the Trump administration following the abrupt firing of 8 inspectors general.
In an interview with MSNBC, Former Inspectors General Ware stated, “IG’s [Inspectors General] are independent. We’re non-partisan, which means that we are the taxpayer’s advocates within government agencies. Our job is to look for fraud, waste, and abuse, and make recommendations to make, their government [referring to President Trump], our government more efficient.”
Breaking down the abrupt decision made by the Trump administration, Former Inspector General Ware shared the reasoning for why he was fired.
“Well, the reason is actually the most alarming part. The reason was due to changing priorities of the administration. And the reason why that is alarming is because IG’s are not a part of any administration,” he said.
Former Inspector General Ware further explained the impact of IG’s on our democratic republic, “Our community has been doing effective work since the inception of the IG Act in 1978. In the last 10 years alone we have over $143 billion in investigative recoveries alone. We have a $26 return on investment on every dollar spent on IG offices, in my office at SBA alone, over the past 5 years, we have a return on investment of over $50 for every dollar spent on us. So what is being stripped away is an independent way to provide the type of protections and the type of transparency that every American citizen deserves.”
The chairman went on to explain that when Inspectors General first learned about the DOGE Department he, “tried to reach out for a conversation to let them know what IGs actually do in terms of driving government efficiency. I [Former Inspector General Ware] never received any callback.”
“We might as well not have an inspector general act at all. We might as well not have an Independent oversight mechanism for our government,” Ware continued.
At the close of the interview, the former chairman addressed American citizens: “We are apolitical and we tell just the straight truth based on what the criteria before us states. We are not even put in office based on political affiliation. Which is why it is critical that you have independent watchdogs who are unafraid to speak the truth to power. We are your biggest advocates.”
