New watchdog at Education Department may have shared pro-Trump social media posts

The acting inspector general at the Education Department is being replaced for the second time this year, and the watchdog’s new leader is an IG official who seems to have shared social media posts supporting Donald Trump. 

Mark Priebe will be the new acting Education IG, according to a 30-day notice sent to Congress on Nov. 7. He has been the director of the Non-Federal Audit Team at the Education IG office since 2017 and previously worked as an auditor at the Housing and Urban Development Department and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to his LinkedIn. 

The president is permitted to replace an acting IG, but he is limited to selecting an individual who is currently working in an IG office. 

An X account that appears to belong to Priebe occasionally shared messages from other accounts that back Trump including:

• Picture from “FAN TRUMP ARMY” on Nov. 14, 2024, that shows Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk with the caption “They are gonna Make America Great and Health Again!!”
• Poll from Musk, who owns X, on Nov. 18, 2022, showing that a majority of respondents wanted to “reinstate” Trump.
• A June 16, 2021, post by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was slain earlier this year, asking why the name of the Capitol Police officer who killed Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt hadn’t been released.

Also, the account on Jan. 13, 2023, posted a photo of former President Joe Biden in the Oval Office with the caption “the hypocrisy of this administration is unbelievable.” Federal employees are permitted to discuss politics on social media, with some exceptions.

The Education IG position opened up after Trump fired Sandra Bruce in January along with 16 other agency watchdogs. Deputy Education IG René Rocque then became acting IG, but she was replaced this summer after notifying Congress that officials were stonewalling an investigation into staff reductions that have halved the department’s workforce. 

Rocque was swapped out for Heidi Semann, who came from the Federal Reserve Board IG. According to the congressional notice replacing her with Priebe, Semann is returning to her former position at that IG office. 

Trump wrote in the notice that “[u]ltimately, I have determined that the priorities of my administration will be better implemented with [Priebe] in this office,” which mirrors language in past notices replacing acting IGs. 

The president has removed acting IGs at four other agencies, including most recently at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. 

Reuters reported on Nov. 3 that acting FHFA IG Joe Allen was pushed out after he shared information with the prosecutor’s office investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud and was planning to notify Congress that the agency was not cooperating with IG investigators. FHFA Director Bill Pulte has issued criminal referrals against several of Trump’s political opponents, including James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. 

Neither the White House or the Education Department responded to a request for comment.