Michael J. Missal
Michael J. Missal was the inspector general of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 19, 2016 and sworn in on May 2, 2016. On January 24, 2025, he was fired by President Donald Trump along with at least 17 other Inspectors General; however, the legality of the firing remains in question.
Early life and education
Missal was born in Bristol, Connecticut. His father, Harold Missal, a decorated WWII veteran who helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp, served as a Connecticut state court judge for more than forty years. Missal graduated from Washington and Lee University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University Law School.Career
Missal served in the Carter administration as a staff assistant to assistant to the president Anne Wexler and then as a law clerk to counsel to the president Lloyd Cutler. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk for Chief Judge H. Carl Moultrie I of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He then joined the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Enforcement.Prior to his appointment as inspector general, Missal was a partner at K&L Gates LLP, where he was a member of the K&L Gates Management Committee and also served as co-leader for the K&L Gates Policy and Regulatory Practice Area. He led several high-profile investigations, including an inquiry into the use of the “Killian” documents by 60 Minutes; the collapse of WorldCom for the federal bankruptcy court; and, as the DOJ appointed bankruptcy examiner, the report about the financial misconduct at New Century Financial.