Existing career auditors are not the problem. The problem is that changes in department audit priorities occur whenever a new department head comes aboard. That

Existing career auditors are not the problem. The problem is that changes in department audit priorities occur whenever a new department head comes aboard. That person, in many cases especially over the last couple decades, has no prior exposure to department programs, experience in that domain, and only received the appointment as a payback for their support of a candidate who ended up in a position to dole out perks to supporters. Check a few bios for department head appointees to any federal agency over the last few decades. These people come aboard with skillsets in different domains and need to be brought up to speed by the people that they are expected to lead in all the agency programs, directives, initiatives, etc and the rules governing each. They also are beholden to the one who appointed them and expected to prioritize the agency mission based on that benefactor's objectives for their own administration. Add to that the inevitable desire to put a personal stamp on an agency while you build your resume that you hope will place you in a situation where you can run successfully for an elected office now that you have built some name recognition. Your party needs you, blah, blah, blah. Career auditors know all the rules, regulations, congressional mandates and guidelines and if they are ineffective it is only because they are held back by those above them who have a different, variable agenda. If career auditors had full say over which audits to conduct, and if there was no one immune to the consequences of an audit, then we would not have the levels of fraud that are so easily documented and so rarely prosecuted. These people love their jobs and they take it all seriously. The only question DOGE is part of the answer to will end up being the question about who took the fall for all the criminality conjured by the current administration as they assisted in looting federal resources. EDIT: Remember that in order to become an auditor you need to reach a certain educational level, for example you need to pass the CPA exam and then hit all your training targets during the year to maintain that CPA status. They likely get training and certs as a CIA, Certified Internal Auditor. They may also be a CFE, Certified Fraud Examiner which also is a professional position requiring training and recertification. They also have to have ethics training to maintain their certifications. From current news reports, it sounds like DOGE got ethnics training which clearly is not the same thing.