Welcoming Our New Inspector General

I am pleased to formally welcome and introduce Mark Lee Greenblatt as the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior. Inspector General Greenblatt was nominated for this position by President Trump in January and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2019. 

The significance of welcoming the new Inspector General to the Department cannot be overstated. Remarkably, the last Inspector General to hold his position took office in August 1999, and no Senate-confirmed Inspector General has served in the Department for more than a decade.  

Inspector General Greenblatt will supervise and lead the Office of Inspector General’s staff of auditors, investigators, evaluators, and mission support personnel in detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement throughout the Department. 

Inspector General Greenblatt previously served more than 5 years conducting oversight investigations with the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and over a decade between the Department of Justice and Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General.

I have endeavored to improve and modernize the Department, including transforming our ethics programs and addressing workplace conduct issues. The Office of Inspector General shares our overarching mission and purpose of making the Department more effective, efficient, and wiser in the utilization of our limited resources to the benefit of our Nation. Through its evaluations, audits, reviews, and investigations, the Office of Inspector General serves a vital role in identifying waste, inefficiencies, and misconduct, as well as providing the Department’s leadership with timely and actionable information. 

As public servants, we have an obligation to cooperate with the Office of Inspector General as it fulfills its statutory responsibilities under the Inspector General Act of 1978. The Inspector General needs access to information that may be privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure to sources outside the Department under laws such as the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, or the Trade Secrets Act. In addition, employees should be confident that the Office of Inspector General will treat this information in ways that are consistent with legal interests and in full compliance with applicable statutes.

I have attached a memorandum outlining my cooperation expectations. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Greenblatt on his appointment as Inspector General.

Respectfully,
Secretary David L. Bernhardt

Click here for a signed copy of this memo.