Profile in Courage: IG Michael Horowitz

In the year that the economy stood still (2020), politicians rushed to the rescue with trillions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer dollars to bail out large and small companies. Unsurprisingly, a large sum of the money went to unscrupulous ends and propped up corporations that should not have been asking for help. The questionable spending kept growing, setting the stage for trillion-dollar deficits, a $30 trillion debt, and 8 percent inflation.

But, throughout this fiscal catastrophe, there have been government watchdogs intent on holding lawmakers accountable for dubious disbursements. Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz has been instrumental in documenting the waste, fraud, and abuse incurred during the government’s response to COVID-19. Every step of the way, he’s had to do battle with politicians keen on sidelining accountability efforts. And, for doing the impossible amid the worst crisis of our lifetimes, Michael Horowitz is truly a Profile in Courage.

In his ten years as IG for the DOJ, Horowitz has dealt with no shortage of governmental ineptitude. Botched federal operations, along with nonsensical limits on watchdog powers, were problems long before the pandemic hit. When Horowitz was tasked with looking into the FBI’s deeply flawed investigation of former women’s national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, he hit a brick wall when he was unable to compel relevant follow-up testimony from USA Gymnastics officials. Similarly, Horowitz was stymied in his investigation of Jeffrey Epstein’s plea deal because of rules prohibiting the IG from examining the actions of his own department’s attorneys.

But when the coronavirus sparked a nationwide shutdown in March of 2020, Congress recognized the role of IGs in ensuring an effective federal response. The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 mandated the creation of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to oversee the avalanche of authorized funds. As chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), it was up to Horowitz to appoint an IG to serve as head of PRAC. The man chosen for the role was Glenn A. Fine, a dedicated public servant who had been inspector general at both the DOJ and Department of Defense (DOD).

Disaster struck when former President Donald Trump baselessly labeled Fine as partisan and removed him from his role as acting DOD IG. And, because PRAC members were required by law to be serving IGs, Trump had effectively preempted Fine from doing his job. In response to the political tumult, Horowitz stepped up and became the acting chairman of PRAC in April 2020. In January of 2021, CIGIE decided to make Horowitz’s role as chair permanent.

That was a smart move. Horowitz hit the ground running, identifying billions of dollars’ worth of waste in the coronavirus response effort. One key area of focus for the watchdog has been the $800 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a subsidized loan program meant to help struggling small businesses get back on their feet. As Horowitz explains, “57,000 loans worth $3.6 billion went to individuals who are actually on the Treasury Department’s do-not-pay list. SBA never checked it.” In all, about $80 billion was stolen from PPP alone, and Horowitz has been candid that, “[w]e have a lot of work to do, and it is going to take us months and years to sort through this.”

Despite the long, painstaking nature of the work, Horowitz and his team have already nabbed 1,200 indictments in his work, amounting to 900 arrests and 500 convictions. And, when politicians try to interfere with watchdogs’ work, Horowitz isn’t afraid to call them out.

Thanks to his work, future generations of taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill for fraudsters buying Lamborghinis and lavish homes. For keeping waste to a minimum while defending the integrity of his office, Michael Horowitz is truly a Profile in Courage.

Photo from U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.