The acting State Department watchdog, Stephen Akard, reportedly resigned just three months after President Trump fired the department’s previous inspector general.
The State Department Office of Inspector General staff were told by email on Wednesday of Akard’s decision, according to CNN. Akard’s deputy, Diana Shaw, said he would be returning to Indiana but did not expand on the reasoning for his departure.
Akard was chosen to replace former Inspector General Steve Linick, who was fired in May. Akard worked under Vice President Mike Pence as the head of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation when Pence was governor of Indiana.
Linick was fired at the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after he reportedly opened an investigation into the nation’s top diplomat. Linick was the fourth inspector general ousted by Trump, causing critics to raise concerns about a lack of oversight within the Trump administration.
Trump removed acting Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm after she released a report in April saying hospitals were in severe need of coronavirus testing supplies and personal protective equipment. Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who handled the whistleblower complaint that prompted the impeachment investigation into the president, and Pentagon Inspector General Glenn Fine were also removed from their posts.
