Comptroller General of the United States

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 created the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office, and placed it under a Comptroller General independent of the executive branch, so that Congress would have its own auditor of how the government spends money. The Comptroller General serves a single 15-year term, among the longest of any federal official, and can be removed only by a joint resolution of Congress or by impeachment. When a vacancy occurs, a commission of congressional leaders recommends at least three candidates, and the President nominates one for Senate confirmation.

The Comptroller General leads about 3,500 auditors, analysts, lawyers, and specialists who carry out audits and investigations, mostly at the request of congressional committees, and publishes hundreds of reports a year and an annual list of federal programs at high risk of waste or mismanagement. The office also issues legal decisions on federal appropriations law and bid protests in government contracting, and under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 reports to Congress when the executive branch withholds funds Congress has appropriated.

Because the Comptroller General answers to Congress, the Supreme Court ruled in Bowsher v. Synar in 1986 that the office could not carry out executive functions such as ordering automatic budget cuts. In 2025 GAO issued several decisions finding that the executive branch had unlawfully withheld appropriated funds, and the administration disputed its authority. The Comptroller General's 15-year term ended in December 2025, leaving the office to an acting head pending a new appointment. Supporters say an independent auditor is essential to Congress's power of the purse, while critics in the executive branch say GAO overstates its legal authority over spending decisions.