The behind the scenes chaos which led the Social Security watchdog to resign

Stonewalling federal investigators, retaliation and whistleblowers and levying large fines against the most vulnerable Americans had become commonplace inside the office that was supposed to oversee the Social Security Administration.

It finally came to a head last week.

Gail Ennis, resigned after years of criticism of her management, on Friday from her role as the adminstration’s Office of Inspector General. She was nominated by former president Donald Trump to run the post in 2018 and took office a year later.

The inspector general helps oversee an office and issues reports and corrective measures to address problems. In this case, Ennis oversaw the administration responsible for the monthly checks received by 69 million retired Americans and another 15 million who receive disability payments.

What Ennis inherited from her predecessor was a debacle that would spiral into a scandal due to her actions, eventually leading to her downfall nearly six years later.

Ennis was a vocal supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign for president and donated thousands of dollars in a relationship that was first exposed by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Her loyalty was rewarded with dual roles — under Trump’s administration, she also served as Inspector General for the Department of Interior for several months.

But her management of the Social Security Administration as it dealt with accusations of improperly levying fines against poor and disabled Americans, in some cases in violation of due process, eventually resulted in her resignation.

Upon taking office as inspector general, Ennis inherited a program that had begun just one year earlier, which was crippling the financial house of