The Labor Department’s top internal watchdog isn’t distancing himself from his political affiliations and public persona: For the former New York Republican congressman, they’re assets to advancing an anti-fraud agenda.
Anthony D’Esposito, in his first six months as the DOL’s inspector general—a role designed to independently investigate misconduct in Washington—regularly voices support for the Trump administration on conservative news networks and praises President Donald Trump on his personal and official social media accounts.
He’s closely aligned his fraud-fighting efforts with the White House’s plans, saying he’s working hand-in-hand with Vice President JD Vance and acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.
“I’m never going to shy away from the fact that I’m a conservative Republican,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Law. “I’m never going to shy away from the fact that I support the agenda, especially as it pertains to this office, just because I want to maintain an appearance. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Government accountability nonprofits, however, say D’Esposito’s actions are contributing to Trump’s subversion of the IGs, opening the door for corruption in the federal government. The impacts go beyond risking the reputation of the position, said Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight.
“It is already extremely risky for people to come forward and blow the whistle on misconduct,” he said. “Even the appearance of mistrust or partisan activity is enough to create a chilling effect.”
Appearance of Independence
Concerns about D’Esposito’s impartially began with his nomination last year after Trump fired former IG Larry Turner and 16 other IGs.
Senators from both parties grilled him about his alleged desire to run for the congressional seat he lost in 2024. D’Esposito denied the New York Times’ reporting that he hired both his mistress and his fiance’s daughter to work in his congressional offices, which would violate of the House code of conduct.
Watchdog groups are now raising more questions.
The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in April, accusing D’Esposito of violating the council’s ethical standards. The watchdog group pointed to his public statements and social media posts.
D’Esposito regularly shares posts from Trump, Vance, and Sonderling. Most are connected to Vance’s anti-fraud task force, but he has also signaled support for Trump’s immigration and economic agendas.
“American workers are the best in the world and under @POTUS, their Golden Age has arrived,” he said in a May 19 X post.
The IG offices are charged with conducting audits of public programs to find inefficiencies and respond to internal misconduct complaints in an unbiased manner.
According to CIGIE’s standards, IGs and their staff “must be independent and free, both in fact and appearance, from impairments to independence.” But the council has little power to do anything beyond investigate the claims and report them to Congress.
D’Esposito said he’s used social media to raise the profile of his office and celebrate its work.
“Being able and comfortable to jump on any news channel and tell the story, to jump on a radio hit, to write an op-ed, I think that’s important, and it’s not just important for this IG’s office, it’s important for the IG community,” he said, sitting in his office in DOL’s Washington headquarters.
“I think very often IGs, whether it was by design or by fear, they hid behind the independence. You can still be independent and tell a story.”
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
D’Esposito’s record as IG is notable: he led an investigation into misconduct that led to the resignation of Trump’s labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. His office has also expanded its investigatory work, culminating in 169 investigations in the second half of fiscal year 2025 that resulted in $671 million in recovered money, restitution, and penalties, according to semi-annual reports filed to Congress. That’s up from $185 million recovered during the first half of FY2025, and $60 million under the Biden administration in the second half of FY 2024.
While he said the Chavez-DeRemer probe was like “a tremendous bag of shit” being dropped in his lap that consumed his office’s resources, he noted it’s the clearest evidence of his ability to remain impartial.
“It’s not an investigation that I wanted to lead. I think it’s a tragedy what happened. But nonetheless, I did it because that’s what I took an oath to do,” he said.
A former detective with the New York Police Department, D’Esposito said the Labor OIG’s authority to prosecute crimes outside the government drew him to the role and now has turned his priorities towards prosecuting unemployment insurance fraud.
His office announced nearly $1 billion in unemployment funds are tied up in big banks and state coffers. Earlier this month, the DOL launched “strike teams” to investigate fraud in several states—most overseen by Democratic governors, including Minnesota and California.
The OIG also announced technology audits of Kentucky, New Jersey, and West Virginia to determine how federally allocated modernization funds are being used.
D’Esposito, who joined Vance’s anti-fraud task force along with other administration officials, also began appearing on right-wing news channels to tout his work.
The Labor Department last week announced its partnership with D’Esposito and the Trump administration, aimed at utilizing wider resources to aggressively prosecute those accused of fraud.
“Anyone who says, in Washington DC, that relationships aren’t important or necessary, they’re full of crap,” he said. ”All of those relationships matter, and I’m certainly going to utilize them to the best of my ability for the advantage of the agency.”
But Will Fletcher, president of the Association of Inspectors General said the publicized partnership risks crossing a line.
“The moment an inspector general is suspected of acting out of political purpose or is under the control of a political entity, they are viewed not as a watchdog but an attack dog,” he said, adding that it “eviscerates” the public’s investigative resource.