Shackling the GAO

A new tactic in executive consolidation is to weaken or restrict a legislature’s auditing and oversight arm rather than reforming courts or agencies directly. If an administration can curtail the Government Accountability Office’s access, mandate, or independence, it can materially blunt Congress’s ability to police executive overreach. — Undermining a nonpartisan auditing office shifts the balance of checks and makes other branches less able to detect or litigate abuses, with long-term consequences for accountability.