WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U. S. President Donald Trump's pick for the new watchdog overseeing $2.3 trillion in coronavirus-related fiscal spending is not independent enough to do the job, congressional Democrats said on Saturday.

The White House said late on Friday Trump would nominate Brian Miller, a special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel in the Office of White House Counsel, to the role of special inspector general for pandemic recovery.

"The Inspector General providing oversight of the federal response of this historic relief package for workers and families must be independent from politics," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi echoed in her own statement. "The President's nomination of one of his own lawyers clearly fails that test.

Senate Democrats, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and the top Democratic senator on the Senate Finance Committee, also criticized the move.

Democratic U. S. Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a post on Twitter that the appointment was akin to putting a "fox in charge of the henhouse."

The new watchdog position, which comes with a $25 million budget, was created to "conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the making, purchase, management, and sale of loans, loan guarantees, and other investments" by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

If approved by the Senate, Miller would also... (Read more)