白宫曾提出任命其一名高级官员担任政府最强大监督机构的负责人，此举可能威胁到对唐纳德·特朗普总统行政分支改革工作的监督。
The White House has floated placing one of its top officials to serve as the head of the government’s most powerful watchdog, a move that could threaten the oversight of President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the executive branch.
据四名了解此事的人士透露，特朗普正在考虑提名管理与预算办公室（OMB）主任拉斯·沃特（Russ Vought）的副手，担任国家审计长，即政府问责局（GAO）的负责人，任期为15年。
Trump is considering nominating Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought’s deputy to serve as the nation’s comptroller general, the Government Accountability Office’s chief, for a 15-year term, according to four people familiar with the matter.
作为OMB的副主任，埃里克·尤兰德（Eric Ueland）主导了对联邦雇员队伍以及各机构执行任务方式的重大调整。在沃特和尤兰德的领导下，政府实施了多项支出和人事调整，而GAO曾多次认定这些措施违法，并损害了政府运作。
As OMB deputy director, Eric Ueland has presided over massive shakeups to the federal workforce and how agencies carry out their missions. Under Vought and Ueland, the administration has directed government spending and workforce changes that GAO has on several occasions deemed illegal and detrimental to the functioning of government.
如果尤兰德被提名并获确认领导立法分支的监督机构，他本人将有权决定是否追究政府此前其本人参与的工作的责任。
If nominated and confirmed to lead the legislative branch’s watchdog agency, Ueland himself would get to decide whether to hold the administration accountable for work he previously was a part of.
白宫已向参议院共和党人提出提名尤兰德的想法，而共和党人在GAO领导层遴选过程中拥有超出其比例的影响力。根据法律规定，一个跨党派国会委员会必须至少向总统推荐三名候选人供其考虑。自吉恩·多达罗（Gene Dodaro）的任期于2025年底结束以来，GAO的最高职位一直空缺。
The White House has raised the idea of nominating Ueland to Senate Republicans, who have an outsized role in the GAO leadership selection process. By statute, a bipartisan congressional commission must send at least three candidates to the president to consider for nomination. The top GAO job has sat vacant since Gene Dodaro’s term expired at the end of 2025.
除了在OMB的职务外，尤兰德还兼任政府道德办公室代理主任，以及基本已停摆的美国国际开发署（USAID）的代理负责人。尤兰德未回应置评请求，OMB也拒绝发表评论。
In addition to his role at OMB, Ueland is serving as the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics and the largely defunct U.S. Agency for International Development. Ueland did not respond to requests for comment, and OMB declined to comment.
特朗普推动任命尤兰德之举，正值GAO及其与国会关系处于危险时刻。GAO正面临来自国会山的要求，希望其行使诉讼权，起诉特朗普政府采取所谓“非法预算手段”的行为，例如在过去两年中扣押了国会已批准的数十亿美元资金。
Trump’s push to install Ueland comes at a perilous time for GAO and its relationship with Congress. GAO is facing pressure from Capitol Hill to exercise its power to sue the Trump administration over what the watchdog itself has labeled illegal budgetary gimmicks, like impounding billions of dollars in congressionally approved funds over the last two years.
根据水门事件后颁布的法律，政府不得出于政策考量而扣留国会已批准的拨款。该法律还赋予美国政府问责局（GAO）起诉那些擅自拒付资金的政府的权力；近期的司法判例也表明，唯有GAO才有权提起此类诉讼。
A post-Watergate law prohibits an administration from withholding congressionally appropriated funds for policy reasons. The law gave GAO the authority to sue an administration that improperly refuses to spend money, and recent court precedent has suggested only GAO has the authority to bring such a challenge.
在为开展审计与审查工作而索要相关文件及要求相关人员接受问询时，GAO屡屡遭遇联邦各机构的阻挠。通常情况下，GAO应国会议员的请求展开调查，但如今对于民主党议员提出的调查请求，该机构也遭遇了更多阻力。
The GAO has faced unusual resistance from federal agencies in seeking the documents and interviews necessary to conduct its audits and reviews. GAO typically launches investigations at the request of members of Congress, though the auditors have encountered increased resistance from requests originating from Democrats.
“我们机构在获取相关资料方面遇到的阻碍比以往任何时候都严重，”一位GAO工作人员向《华盛顿太阳报》透露。
“Our agency access issues are worse than ever,” one GAO employee told The Washington Sun.
就在本周二，GAO指出特朗普政府擅自拒绝拨付国会已批准的款项，此举属于违法行为。而白宫管理与预算办公室则否认GAO的调查结论，并称该机构根本无权对其行使监管权。
GAO, as recently as Tuesday, said the Trump administration has unlawfully refused to disburse funds that Congress previously appropriated. OMB has rejected GAO’s findings and said the watchdog has no authority over it anyway.
上周，GAO认定特朗普政府实施的“自行削减拨款”措施——即截留8亿美元资金——同样违反了相关支出法规。这一做法使得白宫管理与预算办公室得以在财政年度结束前一直扣留这些资金。
Last week, GAO found the Trump administration’s “pocket rescissions” of $800 million also amounted to a violation of spending law. The move allowed OMB to withhold funds until they expired at the end of the fiscal year.
据GAO工作人员及国会议员透露，部分议员及其助手对GAO至今仍未对特朗普政府当前的预算操作行为提起法律诉讼表示担忧。这些议员所指的是目前以代理身份履职的政府领导层。
Some lawmakers and their staff have raised concerns about GAO so far declining to bring any legal challenges to the Trump administration’s budgetary machinations to current leadership — who are serving in acting capacities — according to GAO and congressional staffers.
“他们对我们负责预算事务的法律团队的应对方式颇有微词，”前述GAO工作人员补充道，这种意见来自两党议员。
They “have been vocally perturbed about the posture of our appropriations attorneys,” a GAO employee said, adding the feedback has come from both parties.
一位参议院共和党助理证实，目前确实存在推动GAO起诉特朗普政府的呼声，尤其是在国会拨款委员会成功挫败了特朗普政府将GAO预算削减一半的企图之后。
A Senate Republican aide confirmed there has been a push to get GAO to sue the administration, particularly after appropriators fended off an effort by the Trump administration to cut the watchdog agency’s budget in half.
“越来越多的人倾向于走法律途径，”这位共和党助手说道，“拨款委员会成员们一直全力保障GAO的经费，如今他们也在纳闷为何这种法律行动迟迟没有发生。”如果让白宫官员出任GAO的领导人，就有可能彻底消除任何诉讼风险，甚至彻底改组这个监督机构。特朗普第一任及第二任政府都曾与国会设立的这一监督机构产生过冲突，而沃特甚至曾表示GAO根本不应存在。去年，沃特还向各政府机构发布指示，要求它们不必对GAO过于顺从。
“There’s been more and more interest in going about the legal route,” the Republican aide said. “Appropriators have protected GAO’s funding and are wondering why this isn’t happening.”Placing a White House official into GAO leadership has the potential to end any threat of a lawsuit and to upend the watchdog agency altogether. Both the first and second Trump administrations have clashed with Congress’ watchdog, and Vought has suggested GAO should not exist. Vought issued guidance to agencies last year directing them to not be overly deferential to GAO.
在众多外部政府团体纷纷发声后，任命一名OMB官员出任GAO领导人的提议才被提上日程。这些团体包括右翼组织“美国繁荣协会”以及主张自由主义的R街研究所，它们均主张只有国会才有权任命GAO负责人，总统不应插手此事。
The push to install an OMB appointee comes after a wide range of outside government groups, including the right-wing Americans for Prosperity and the libertarian R Street Institute, said Congress alone should have the authority to appoint a GAO chief and the president should have no role at all.
迄今为止，GAO仅因资金截留问题提起过一次诉讼——那是在1975年，即国会立法认定此类行为违法一年后。不过该案件在法官作出裁决前便已和解。曾在1998年至2008年间担任GAO负责人的戴夫·沃克，曾因索要相关文件未果而起诉时任副总统迪克·切尼的办公室。最终法官驳回了此案，沃克也选择不再上诉；不过他向《华盛顿太阳报》透露，那次风波过后，小布什政府与GAO的合作反而更加顺畅。沃克表示，在决定提起诉讼前，他曾努力争取各方支持。
GAO has only sued over impoundments once — in 1975, one year after Congress passed the law deeming them illegal — but the matter was resolved before a judge could issue any ruling. Dave Walker, who led GAO from 1998 to 2008, sued the office of then-Vice President Dick Cheney over access to documents. A judge dismissed the case and Walker opted not to appeal, though he told The Washington Sun the George W. Bush administration worked well with his agency after that dustup. Walker said he sought widespread buy-in before opting to launch his suit.
“在决定起诉以及决定不再上诉之前，我主动与国会两党成员及各方人士进行了沟通，”沃克说道。
“I proactively reached out on both sides of the aisle and both ends of the Hill before I decided to sue and before I made my decision not to appeal,” Walker said.
目前GAO的领导层均由临时任职的职业公务员组成，他们恐怕没有足够的底气去起诉政府。“临时履职与正式获得任命的审计长身份截然不同，”沃克说道。
Current GAO leadership — career staff serving in their roles temporarily — are unlikely to feel sufficiently empowered to sue the administration. “When you’re acting, it’s not the same as being a confirmed comptroller general,” Walker said.
对GAO的不满情绪也蔓延到了其内部员工当中。最近，GAO管理层向工作人员发布了新的指导方针——据《太阳报》核实，该方针涉及如何在调查过程中应对相关机构的抵触行为，这一举措充分体现了其谨慎的行事风格。具体流程为：先设定一个初始期限，若机构未遵守则再设定第二个期限；若仍遭拒绝，则会启动内部升级处理程序。
Frustration with GAO has also reached the ranks of its own workforce. Agency leadership demonstrated its cautious approach recently when it released new guidance to staff, reviewed by The Sun, on encountering agency resistance during investigations. The process involves setting an initial deadline, then a second if the first one is ignored and finally an internal elevation process if agencies continue to refuse to cooperate.
随后，GAO的法律顾问办公室会制定后续应对策略。不过预计GAO的主管们会先与相关机构进一步沟通，最终再向要求出具相关报告的国会议员通报遇到的阻碍。只有在第二个期限再次被错过45天后，GAO高层才会介入，相关指导文件也建议他们共同商议应对办法。
The watchdog’s counsel office will then strategize on a best path forward, though GAO supervisors are expected to engage further with agencies and, eventually, notify members of Congress who requested the report of the roadblocks. Top GAO leadership only gets involved 45 days after the second missed deadline, with guidance suggesting they will confer to figure out how to proceed.
一位GAO员工称，要走到这一步往往需要数月时间，他还表示分析人员对本机构的律师缺乏信心。
Just getting to that point would take months, a GAO employee said, adding the analysts have little confidence in the agency’s lawyers.
“在缺乏确凿证据的情况下，他们只能指望相关机构主动‘自曝其短’。”这位员工说道，“实际上，我们内部早已不指望能从他们那里获得任何帮助了。”
“Without a smoking gun handed to them, they are relying on agencies to tattle on themselves,” the employee said. “Internally, we have effectively abandoned any hope of relying on them.”
该员工还指出，GAO管理层及其总法律顾问“对提起诉讼极为谨慎”。
The employee added that GAO leadership and its general counsel “are very wary about ever suing.”
“他们不愿败诉，也不愿看到GAO的权威遭到削弱，”该员工解释道，“因此他们干脆选择不行使本该拥有的权力，结果其实也差不多。” 公开层面，民主党议员们呼吁共和党人与其合作，推动立法条款以禁止政府擅自撤销拨款或截留资金。
“They don’t want to lose and have GAO’s authority diminished,” the employee said. “So instead, they just kinda don’t flex our authority, which has the same effect.”Publicly, Democratic lawmakers have said Republicans should work with them to pass legislative language that would prohibit pocket rescissions and impoundments.
“如果共和党人能鼓起勇气，协助我们通过限制性条款来约束特朗普的随意开支行为——那再好不过，早就该这样做了，”参议院拨款委员会民主党首席议员、华盛顿州参议员帕蒂·默里上周说道，“不过我并不抱太大期望。”据多位知情人士透露，多达罗离任九个月以来，负责遴选下一任审计署署长的委员会至今仍未召开。
“If Republicans are ready to grow a spine and help us rein in Trump on pocket rescissions — great, it’s way past time,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said last week. “I am not holding my breath.”The commission to select the next head of GAO has still not convened nine months after Dodaro’s departure, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
在当前参议院的席位构成下，担任国土安全与政府事务委员会主席的肯塔基州共和党参议员兰德·保罗实际上将担任该委员会负责人。他虽未回复置评请求，但此前曾表示会认真对待这一流程。
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who in the current Senate makeup would serve as the de facto head of the commission under his role as chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, did not respond to a request for comment but previously said he planned to take the process seriously.
该委员会必须推荐至少三名候选人担任审计署署长，总统随后也可要求他们提供更多人选。法律并未明确规定总统必须从委员会推荐的名单中挑选人选，不过历届白宫政府均照此执行。
The panel must suggest at least three candidates to lead GAO, and the president can subsequently request they come up with more names. The law does not explicitly require the president to choose from the commission’s list, though the White House has done so.