A new government watchdog report is raising concerns about how the Department of Homeland Security has handled allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers. According to the Government Accountability Office, many investigations stretched on for years, while even substantiated cases sometimes waited months or years for a decision.

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From Just the News:

“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 findings concern DHS’s Office of Inspector General, which is responsible for investigating complaints from employees who allege they suffered retaliation after reporting wrongdoing. Of the 73 cases examined from fiscal years 2018 through 2025, the OIG substantiated 11 allegations of whistleblower retaliation.

But the delays did not necessarily end once investigators determined retaliation had occurred. According to the report, Homeland Security secretaries during the period examined failed to decide whether corrective action should be taken in any of those 11 cases within the 30-day period required by law.

As of May 2026, decisions to take corrective action had been made in five of the cases, while six remained unresolved. Those 11 substantiated cases had waited anywhere from four months to more than two years for a decision from the DHS secretary. DHS officials told the GAO there was no established process or designated official responsible for ensuring that the cases received timely review.

The consequences can extend well beyond government bureaucracy. The GAO concluded that faster investigations could reduce the personal, financial, and professional hardships faced by complainants. It also warned that lengthy delays may damage confidence in the very protections intended to encourage federal employees to expose wrongdoing.

“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,” the report states. The GAO warned that the problem “could decrease confidence in DHS whistleblower protections and discourage other whistleblowers from coming forward.”

Accountability depends in part on people being willing to expose misconduct when they encounter it—and trusting that doing so will not leave them vulnerable for years without resolution. Proverbs 31:8 calls us to “open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.” Let’s pray that DHS leaders act with integrity and wisdom, that legitimate whistleblowers are protected from retaliation, and that wrongdoing throughout our government is brought into the light.

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(Excerpt from Just the News. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/54816858557/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=175752639)