Exit interview: GAO’s Gene Dodaro talks impoundments, tenure and retirement priorities

Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testifies during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol on April 29. His term expires at the end of the month. DREW ANGERER / Getty Images

One of an agency leader’s worst fears is getting put on the high risk list of federal programs that are especially vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement or are in need of transformation. 

That list is compiled at the start of each new Congress by the Government Accountability Office, an agency within the legislative branch that issues reports on the performance of federal programs and makes suggestions on how agencies can improve their effectiveness and efficiency. 

Gene Dodaro has led GAO since 2008, first as acting comptroller general for two years before being confirmed in 2010 for a 15-year term. After he retires at the end of the month, Congress will establish a bipartisan, bicameral commission to recommend replacements to ...