DOJ IG To Take Reins As Inspector General For The Fed And CFPB

Michael E. Horowitz has been appointed to lead the Federal Reserve Board's Office of Inspector General (OIG) effective June 30, 2025. The Federal Reserve's OIG also serves in that same role for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is financed by but is autonomous from the Fed. 

The OIG makes recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agencies, while working to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Congress established the OIG as an independent oversight authority for the Fed and the CFPB. 

Horowitz succeeds Mark Bialek, who retired in April after nearly 14 years as inspector general. 

Horowitz has more than 35 years of experience in law, public administration, and investigations. He most recently served as inspector general for the U.S. Department of Justice since April 2012. 

Horowitz also: 

• Served as chairman of a committee of 21 federal inspectors general to oversee $5 trillion in pandemic relief spending; 
• Has served as chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an independent entity within the U.S. executive branch comprised of all federal inspectors general; and
• Has been a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency within the judicial branch of the federal government. 

Earlier in his career, Horowitz served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, eventually serving as chief of that office's public corruption unit. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Brandeis University.