Trump nominates Project 2025 author Dennis Kirk as Interior Department inspector general

Aug 10, 2026

President Donald Trump has nominated Dennis Kirk, a co-author of the conservative Project 2025 manifesto, as the inspector general for the Department of the Interior. The nomination has sparked intense backlash from Democrats and former watchdogs, who argue Kirk's political ties compromise the independence of an office poised to investigate the failed $16 million Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation. While Trump blames the pool's peeling liner on vandals, federal prosecutors dropped charges after concluding the damage resulted from a botched installation by contractors.

Dennis Kirk Interior IG nomination

▪Dennis Kirk previously served as an associate director at the Office of Personnel Management during Donald Trump's first presidential term.
▪President Donald Trump nominated Dennis Kirk on August 7, 2026, to serve as the inspector general for the Department of the Interior.
▪Dennis Kirk was nominated by Donald Trump during his first term to serve as chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, but he never received a Senate floor vote.

Project 2025 authorship background

▪Dennis Kirk created a training video for Project 2025 and wrote an essay warning against progressive ideology in the federal workforce.
▪Dennis Kirk co-authored a chapter in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 policy playbook focused on managing the federal civil service.

Reflecting Pool renovation disaster

▪Donald Trump disputed the Justice Department's findings, claiming on social media that the major damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by vandals.
▪The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia dropped vandalism charges against several defendants in August 2026, citing a botched installation by contractors as the true cause of the Reflecting Pool's peeling liner.
▪The Trump administration's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cost over $16 million, despite initial public estimates of $1.5 million to $2 million.

Democratic opposition to Kirk

▪Democratic Representative Jared Huffman of California criticized the nomination, calling Dennis Kirk a fake and fraudulent watchdog who would serve Donald Trump rather than act independently.
▪Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich requested that the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General investigate the failed Reflecting Pool renovation.

Inspector general independence concerns

▪Former Interior Department Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt expressed concern over the nomination, stating that Dennis Kirk's political ties make independent oversight impossible.
▪Oversight expert Steve Katz stated that Dennis Kirk's nomination violates statutory requirements that inspector general appointments be made without regard to political affiliation.

Conflict of interest questions

▪Dennis Kirk recently worked as an adviser to former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard while simultaneously holding a role within the office of the intelligence community's inspector general.
▪Ethics groups and political opponents raised conflict of interest concerns regarding Dennis Kirk's dual roles under Tulsi Gabbard and the intelligence watchdog office.