‘GAO Has Lost Credibility’: Republicans Focus Fire On Congress’ ‘Independent’ Auditor

Republicans are taking aim at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after lawmakers say it injected politics into its role in favor of Democrats.

Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration have targeted the GAO in recent weeks as the agency stands to issue findings on dozens of Trump administration freezes on federal spending. Republicans say the mission of the GAO has been corrupted by politics and the agency has sacrificed its integrity make favorable rulings for Democrats.

“Just so we are all clear over the next several months. The Government Accountability Office or GAO is a quasi-independent arm of the legislative branch that played a partisan role in the first-term impeachment hoax,” said Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a Friday post on X.

The GAO had just issued a finding that the Department of Transportation lacks authority to freeze funding for a Biden-era electric-vehicle charging program.

“They are going to call everything an impoundment because they want to grind our work to manage taxpayer dollars effectively to a halt. These are non-events with no consequence. Rearview mirror stuff,” Vought added.

Just so we are all clear over the next several months. The Government Accountability Office or GAO is a quasi-independent arm of the legislative branch that played a partisan role in the first-term impeachment hoax. They are going to call everything an impoundment because they… https://t.co/5HWCPnQZFY

— Russ Vought (@russvought) May 23, 2025

The GAO is an independent body that sits within the legislative branch. The agency’s typical duties involve answering procedural and financial questions posed to it by Congress, and seeking out waste and fraud in the federal government. Its findings are non-binding.

Last week, Republicans said the GAO attempted to derail Congress from revoking California’s special emissions standards under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). House Republicans passed the disapproval resolution with assistance from dozens of Democratic votes. The Senate passed the resolution in a largely party-line vote except for Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who sided with the GOP to block the emissions rules.

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The California standards would have banned new gas-powered engines in the state by 2035, and had the potential for a much wider impact on the United States’ car market because of California’s size and other states’ propensity to follow the deep blue state’s lead.

The GAO issued a finding that the California emissions rule under the Clean Air Act is not subject to the CRA.

“For the first time ever, the Government Accountability Office has decided to insert itself into the process and affirmatively declare that an agency rule submitted to Congress as a rule is not a rule,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said during remarks on the floor.

“It’s an extraordinary deviation from precedent for an agency that should be defending Congress’ power instead of constraining it,” he continued. “And frankly, Mr. President, I think we need to act to ensure that this intrusion into the Congressional Review Act process doesn’t become a habit, and that the Senate doesn’t end up transferring its decision-making power on CRA resolutions to the Government Accountability Office.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that the GAO was “sacrificing its credibility to oblige Democratic attempts at preserving economically disastrous Biden-era regulations.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent a team to the GAO to work with the agency on cutting waste and downsizing. GAO officials rebuffed DOGE, saying that the GAO is part of the legislative branch and not under authority from the White House.

“As such, we are not subject to DOGE or Executive Orders,” the office said in an internal bulletin sent earlier this month.