{"id":21802,"date":"2025-01-31T09:50:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T09:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=21802"},"modified":"2025-01-31T09:51:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T09:51:27","slug":"usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After serving as Inspector General since 2002, veteran U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u2019s Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong finally let go reluctantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to\u00a0Reuters<\/u><\/a>, the long-term veteran resisted her firing by President Trump, citing such overnight notice as \u201cnot proper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fong was among 17 IGs under dismissal Friday January 23rd<\/sup>, but she still returned Monday, prompting a security escort out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another terminated IG was Mark Greenblatt of the Interior Department, whose 7.30 p.m. email of dismissal cited \u201cchanging priorities<\/u><\/a>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Fong, there is a 2-decade legacy behind her such as food safety rulings and most recently, bird flu monitoring<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her latest investigations include Neuralink, a brain implant startup by Elon Musk and a sanitation breach at a food plant in Virginia<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do agriculture Inspector Generals do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Politics aside, it is important to note that the work of an USDA inspector general is economically far-reaching, within and without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to USDA, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) looks into the department\u2019s internal allegations and maintains economical efficiency within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of its work extends outside the department into the grassroots, especially fraud and accountability cases. The most recent example was a January 7, 2025 crop insurance fraud by a farmer in Michigan. A district court fined the grower $87,500<\/u><\/a> after OIG proved him as lying about owning crops so as to obtain free crop insurance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OIG also branches out to create accountability in cases involving food safety and farmers\u2019 support during hard times. For instance, during COVID-19, the OIG oversaw the proper use of $5 trillion in agricultural pandemic program funding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the Inspector General\u2019s office at USDA can be a demanding one despite Fong\u2019s longterm delegation with the role. Below are statistics on how past inspector generals have impacted agricultural economic accountability in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

USDA Inspector General Economic Statistics <\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every year, \u00a0inspector generals have been presenting half-yearly reports to Congress. Below is a decade-by-decade skimming of the economic aspect of these reports since 1979:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1979<\/em>, under Thomas R. McBride as IG, USDA had a total operating budget of $20 billion, according to its official site<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 years later in November 1989<\/em>, with Leon Snead as IG, the office of inspector general oversaw the recovery of $63.6 million<\/u><\/a>. It also identified $147.8 million that could be put to better use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the second half of\u00a01999<\/em>, the OIG under Roger C. Viadero had uncovered multiple frauds in the agricultural sector. These frauds led to 208 indictments and 311 convictions. The office also recovered $42 million from projects and from fines. It also identified $107 million that could undergo better use, but\u00a0failed to recover<\/u><\/a>\u00a0some $72 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2009,\u00a0<\/em>during Fong\u2019s office tenure,\u00a0the office channeled 99.5% of its resources towards making public food safety a priority. The office saw\u00a096.7%<\/u><\/a>\u00a0of its audit recommendations on food safety receive implementation within a year of the recommendation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 2019<\/em>: still under Fong, end 2019 saw the recovery of\u00a0$215.3 million.\u00a0<\/a><\/u>The office also outlined $2.2 billion that could go into better use, as well as convicted 202 felons.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After serving as Inspector General since 2002, veteran U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u2019s Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong finally let go reluctantly. According to\u00a0Reuters, the long-term veteran resisted her firing by President Trump, citing such overnight notice as \u201cnot proper.\u201d Fong was among 17 IGs under dismissal Friday January 23rd, but she still returned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUSDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After serving as Inspector General since 2002, veteran U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u2019s Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong finally let go reluctantly. According to\u00a0Reuters, the long-term veteran resisted her firing by President Trump, citing such overnight notice as \u201cnot proper.\u201d Fong was among 17 IGs under dismissal Friday January 23rd, but she still returned...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-31T09:50:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-31T09:51:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Poultry_Classes_Blog_photo_-_Flickr_-_USDAgov-e1708076119344.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"639\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"649\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/\",\"name\":\"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-31T09:50:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-31T09:51:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"description\":\"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\",\"name\":\"Timothy Wahome\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Timothy Wahome\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","og_description":"After serving as Inspector General since 2002, veteran U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u2019s Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong finally let go reluctantly. According to\u00a0Reuters, the long-term veteran resisted her firing by President Trump, citing such overnight notice as \u201cnot proper.\u201d Fong was among 17 IGs under dismissal Friday January 23rd, but she still returned...","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/","og_site_name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","article_published_time":"2025-01-31T09:50:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-31T09:51:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":639,"height":649,"url":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Poultry_Classes_Blog_photo_-_Flickr_-_USDAgov-e1708076119344.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Timothy Wahome","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Timothy Wahome","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/","name":"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-31T09:50:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-31T09:51:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/31\/usda-lets-go-of-veteran-inspector-general-sensationally\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"USDA lets go of veteran inspector general sensationally\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/","name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","description":"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8","name":"Timothy Wahome","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Timothy Wahome"},"url":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21802"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21805,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21802\/revisions\/21805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}