What was once more commonly discussed as a danger in fragile democracies is now an urgent American concern. Recent developments suggest that this form of institutional seizure is no longer theoretical; it is taking hold here.
Public confidence in institutions reflects these concerns. A recent Pew survey found that 68% of Americans—including a majority of voters from both parties—believe the United States has declined as a model of democracy in recent years.
As a former local prosecutor and now a state inspector general, I have investigated and prosecuted fraud and corruption. That work is essential. However, I believe that when corruption is not merely a matter of isolated misconduct and instead reflects a broader institutional breakdown, traditional enforcement tools are not enough. Criminal prosecutions address specific violations by specific people. But state capture requires something broader: a public accounting of how institutions became vulnerable to manipulation, who benefited, and how to transform our institutions to prevent it from happening again.
The United States should consider a comparable commission of inquiry to examine modern forms of institutional failure, agency by agency, and rebuild public confidence in government. Such a commission would require nonpartisan leadership with strong public credibility and clearly defined independence from political influence.
Plus, we already have the infrastructure to staff such a nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry: inspectors general. Across the country, inspectors general like myself serve as independent watchdogs who investigate, prevent, and publicly report on fraud and corruption across government and make recommendations for future prevention. The federal IG offices remain among the most technically capable investigative bodies in the federal government. The investigators, auditors, and lawyers who work within them possess deep expertise in funding, procurement, enforcement systems, and internal controls, as well as the statutory authority to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse needed to retroactively conduct a wholesale review of this moment of American capture—and, crucially, to report their findings to the public. Each inspector general's office would conduct the inquiry within the agency it already oversees: the Department of Justice IG would review and report on DOJ, the Department of Education IG would review and report on that department, and so forth throughout the federal government, all reporting up through a nonpartisan leadership structure to the public.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Americans should insist that the semiquincentennial mark a renewal of democracy, not its decline. To meet this moment, our country should call for a Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, and employ our inspectors general—first created by our founding fathers during the Revolutionary War and later embedded into civilian government during the post-Watergate crisis of public trust—to shine the light necessary for a restoration of public trust.
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