Inspector General Access Act of 2025

The bill amends section 413 of title 5, United States Code, which governs the powers of the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Justice. It removes a specific paragraph in subsection (b) and related cross‑references that had treated some types of allegations differently from others. By striking this paragraph and the exception language in subsection (d), the bill takes away a carve‑out that had applied to certain allegations described in that removed paragraph. With the carve‑out gone, those allegations would fall under the same general investigative authority as other matters the DOJ Inspector General can review. The bill does not create a new office. It adjusts the rules for who the existing DOJ Inspector General can investigate and for what kinds of alleged misconduct, by cleaning up and renumbering parts of the statute so that the IG’s access applies more broadly.

The DOJ Inspector General is responsible for investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct inside the Department of Justice. Changing these rules can affect whether the IG or another DOJ office handles certain complaints about DOJ personnel. Removing an exception may make the IG’s authority more consistent across different types of DOJ employees and allegations. This can influence how internal misconduct is detected, reviewed, and reported, which in turn can affect public trust in the fairness and independence of DOJ oversight. The exact impact on investigations will depend on how the Department of Justice and the Inspector General apply the revised statute in practice, which is not specified in the bill text itself.