WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog has paused roughly 85 percent of its audits and reviews as the partial government shutdown enters its eighth week, according to a statement from the inspector general's office. The halted work covers oversight of no-bid contracts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities, instances of possible use of excessive force in immigration enforcement, and multiple Secret Service inquiries, according to officials.

Among the paused investigations, four inquiries into the Secret Service's response to the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump have been put on hold because of the shutdown, according to a statement from the inspector general's office. A review of ICE's progress in locating and checking on the safety of unaccompanied immigrant children has also been suspended. A separate review examining Homeland Security Investigations' efforts to combat the spread of fentanyl across U.S. borders has been placed on hold as well.

The partial shutdown has halted funding to DHS, forcing the inspector general's office to furlough 60 percent of its workforce, a spokesperson said. The employees who remain on duty include special agents conducting criminal investigations and staff members whose work is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or by the Disaster Relief Fund, the spokesperson said.

DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari is one of the few Cabinet-level inspectors general who was not fired in the days after Trump took office last year. His office had been conducting an audit of no-bid contracts worth millions of dollars that the department awarded before the shutdown forced that work to stop.

The no-bid contracts have been the subject of congressional scrutiny. During a congressional hearing last month, lawmakers questioned former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about her involvement in such contracts at DHS. Corey Lewandowski, a former senior adviser to Noem, was also questioned by lawmakers at the hearing about his involvement in those contracts.

While the inspector general's oversight work has largely been paused, ICE has continued making arrests during the shutdown. The U.S. government provided DHS with a $75 billion infusion through a sweeping tax and spending bill signed by Trump last year.