The Government Accountability Office finds a recently released report that the Department of Homeland Security's chief oversight office took more than 3 years to investigate the majority of whistleblower retaliation cases.  

GAO said in the report that “timeliness is a problem" at DHS's Office of Inspector General that "could undermine whistleblowers' confidence in their protections." 

"OIG took over 3 years to investigate the majority (39 of 73) of the cases it opened and closed in fiscal years 2018 through 2025," according to the report. 

GAO officials said in the report that OIG officials told them that case complexity and limited staff affected some case timeframes and that they have "focused more on investigation quality and thoroughness than timeliness."

With regard to that argument, the GAO report states: "While OIG policy requires timely review of whistleblower retaliation complaints, OIG has not defined this objective in specific, measurable terms; evaluated timeliness; or implemented other mechanisms to help enhance accountability and ensure more timely investigations. 

The watchdog report also concluded that improving timeliness could lessen the personal, financial, and professional hardships on complainants and help convey that protecting whistleblowers is a priority."

OIG "substantiated" 11 of the 73 whistleblower retaliation cases noted in the report from fiscal years 2018 through 2025. 

The report found secretaries of Homeland Security in the period did not decide whether to take corrective action for any of these cases within 30 days of receiving OIG’s report, as required by law. 

As of May 2026, the secretary decided to take corrective action for five cases and had not decided whether to take corrective action for the remaining six," the report states.

"These 11 cases had awaited the Secretary’s decision for 4 months to over 2 years. DHS officials told GAO there is no process or designated official responsible for ensuring cases are reviewed in a timely manner," the report also read.

The watchdog also had a warning for the DHS OIG about the long process of investigating whistleblower claims.

"Until the Secretary decides on corrective action for the six pending cases and takes steps to ensure timely decisions on future substantiated cases, whistleblowers with substantiated cases will not receive timely restorative personnel actions," reads the report. "This could decrease confidence in DHS whistleblower protections and discourage other whistleblowers from coming forward."