What Didn’t Work: Tongue-Tied at the Top

In June 2006, Sen. Grassley, then chair of the Senate Finance Committee—overseer of the Smithsonian’s budget—requested an audit of Small’s compensation and expenses. The Smithsonian undertook an internal audit, during which Debra Ritt, then the institution’s inspector general (the federal term for internal auditor), complained that Small put pressure on her to curtail the audit.