Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Former VA inspector general sues for his job back

Former VA inspector general sues for his job back

Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal testifies before the House Veterans Affairs Committee about ongoing reforms at the VA in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — For months, Reta Mays’ treachery slipped through the cracks at the VA hospital center in West Virginia, where she worked as a nursing assistant. By injecting insulin into elderly patients who didn’t need it, she murdered seven people from 2017 to 2018.

She eventually confessed, but in the meantime, the VA’s Office of Inspector General, led by Michael Missal, began investigating where things had gone wrong. Three years later, in 2021, Missal’s office released a damning report.


Before they hired her, the VA failed to check Mays’ background adequately. She lacked any official certificates or licenses as a caregiver and was accused of using excessive force against inmates in her previous job as a correctional officer

As he did throughout nine years as an inspector general, Missal’s report made the agency look bad by shining a light on its mistakes. Like the dozens of other inspector generals, known as federal watchdogs, Missal and his office are supposed to be independent so they can conduct thousands of vital reports and recommendations for their parent agencies.

President Donald Trump broke precedent in his first week back in office by firing 17 inspector generals, including Missal. Some are now suing to get their jobs back.

Last Wednesday, Missal and seven other former inspector generals filed a lawsuit against the president, claiming he had broken the law by failing to inform Congress 30 days before the removals and providing detailed explanations.

“The firing of the independent nonpartisan inspectors general was a clear violation of the law,” Missal said in an interview with USA Today. “The IGs are bringing this action for reinstatement so that they can go back to work fighting fraud, waste, and abuse on behalf of the American people.”

Many inspector generals had years of experience ferreting fraud and waste in federal agencies, including the Pentagon, the Departments of State, Education, Labor, and Agriculture.

Trump’s dismissal of the inspector generals, including some of his own appointees, soon sparked widespread criticism.

“Inspector General Missal has served his office with integrity and led a number of unbiased investigations during the Biden and first Trump administrations that Congress relied on to perform its oversight duties and improve the quality of care and benefits delivered to our nation’s veterans,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

According to last week’s lawsuit, Missal’s access to the VA’s devices, networks, and buildings was quickly cut off.

Two days after the lawsuit was filed, a federal judge denied the inspector generals any chance of immediate reinstatement to their jobs, potentially lengthening the legal battle ahead. The judge then gave the Trump administration a week to respond to their requests.

Neither Missal nor his legal team responded to requests for comment before this story’s publication.

While the Trump administration never explicitly explained his firing, the Mays’ investigation was one of the many instances in which Missal uncovered scathing health scandals and exorbitant spending at the VA during his nine years in office.

Under his tenure at the VA, Missal charged the Trump administration's acting VA secretary with blocking access to data on whistleblower complaints. He also uncovered critical flaws in a $10 billion electronic health record system at a VA hospital in Spokane, Washington.

Missal was appointed in 2015 as the VA’s inspector general by former President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate. At the time, the job had been vacant for almost two years.

Missal’s acting predecessor, Richard Griffin, resigned following allegations that he interfered with federal investigations. A group of VA employees also revealed that Griffin’s office had attempted to retaliate against whistleblowers.

Missal’s appointment, as many hoped, turned the page.

“For far too long, the VA OIG’s lack of permanent leadership has compromised veteran care, fostered a culture of whistleblower retaliation within the agency, and compromised the independence of the VA’s chief watchdog,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), who served then as the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said at the time.

Before the VA, Missal had a long history working in law firms. He spent over 25 years as a partner at K&L Gates LLP in Washington, D.C., specializing in government enforcement and business protection services.

He also helped oversee multiple large-scale bankruptcy protection cases involving the New Century Financial Corporation and WorldCom.

Missal became one of the longest-serving VA inspector generals since the inspector general positions were first widely established in 1978 under the Jimmy Carter administration.

At the time, Carter suggested that inspector generals could be “perhaps the most important new tools in the fight against fraud.” He viewed the move as even more essential to restore public trust after the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon,

Since Carter, Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have made similar efforts to safeguard the presence of inspectors general within the government.

Jerry Wu covers national security and veteran's affairs in Washington D.C. for Medill on the Hill. The San Diego native is a sophomore at Northwestern University studying journalism and international studies.

Read More

When Politicians Draw Their Own Victories: Why and How To End Gerrymandering

Alyssa West from Austin holds up a sign during the Fight the Trump Takeover rally at the Texas Capitol on Saturday, August. 16, 2025.

(Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

When Politicians Draw Their Own Victories: Why and How To End Gerrymandering

From MAGA Republicans to progressive Democrats to those of us in the middle, Americans want real change – and they’re tired of politics as usual. They’re craving authenticity, real reform, and an end to the status quo. More and more, voters seem to be embracing disruption over the empty promises of establishment politicians, who too often live by the creed that “one bad idea deserves a bigger one.” Just look at how both parties are handling gerrymandering in Texas and California, and it’s difficult to see it as anything other than both parties trying to rig elections in their favor.

Instead of fixing the system, politicians are fueling a turbocharged redistricting arms race ahead of high-stakes midterm 2026 elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress. In Texas, Republicans just redrew congressional lines, likely guaranteeing five new Republican seats, which has sparked Democratic strongholds like California and New York to threaten their own gerrymandered counterattacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Declaration of Independence
When, in 2026, the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we should take pride in our collective journey.
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

What Exactly Does "All Men Are Created Equal" Mean in the Declaration of Independence?

I used to think the answer was obvious; it was self-evident. But it's not, at least not in today's political context. MAGA Republicans and Democrats have a very different take on the meaning of this phrase in the Declaration.

I said in my book, We Still Hold These Truths: An America Manifesto, that it is in the interpretation of our founding documents that both the liberal and conservative ideologies that have run throughout our history can be found. This is a perfect example.

Keep ReadingShow less
Washington, DC, skyline
A country in crisis needs to call a truce with its government
Michael Lee/Getty Images

Defending Democracy in the Heart of Democracy - Washington, D.C.

The Crisis in Our Capital

Washington, D.C. is at the center of American democracy. Yet today, its residents — taxpayers, veterans, workers, families, people like you an I, American citizens — are being stripped of their right to self-government. The recent surge of out-of-state National Guard troops into the District under federal order has highlighted a deep flaw in our system: D.C. does not have the same authority to govern itself that the 50 states enjoy.Keith

We are told this militarization is about “public safety,” but violent crime in D.C. is near a 30-year low . What we are witnessing is not a crime-fighting measure, but an unprecedented encroachment on local authority. The consent of the people — the foundation of democracy — is being sidelined to pursue a political or even personal agenda.

The Ethical and Constitutional Problem

Legally, a president can request National Guard support through interstate compacts. But legality is not the same as legitimacy. True democracy requires consent, not unilateral fiat. Under the Home Rule Act, federal control over D.C. is only supposed to last 30 days in emergencies. Yet the use of state-based National Guard units circumvents this safeguard and seems to demonstrate a hidden agenda. This is a loophole — one that undermines D.C.’s right to self-governance and sets a dangerous precedent for federal overreach.

An Urgent Legislative Answer

It is not enough to critique the abuse of power — we must fix it. That is why I have drafted the D.C. Defense of Self-Government Act, which closes this loophole and restores constitutional balance. The draft bill is now available for public review on my congressional campaign website:

Read the D.C. Defense of Self-Government Act here

This legislation would require explicit, expedited approval from Congress before federal or state National Guard troops can be deployed into the District. It ensures no president — Republican. Democrat or Independent — can bypass the will of the people of Washington, D.C.

This moment also reminds us of a deeper injustice that has lingered for generations: the people of Washington, D.C., remain without full representation in Congress. Over 700,000 Americans—more than the populations of several states—are denied a voting voice in the very body that holds sway over their lives. This lack of representation makes it easier for their self-government to be undermined, as we see today. That must change. We will need to revisit serious legislation to finally fix this injustice and secure for D.C. residents the same democratic rights every other American enjoys.

The Bigger Picture

This fight is not about partisan politics. It is about whether America will live up to its founding ideals of self-rule and accountability. Every voter, regardless of party, should ask: if the capital of our democracy can be militarized without the consent of the people, what stops it from happening in other cities across America?

A Call to Action

When I ran for president, my wife told me I was going to make history. I told her making history didn’t matter to me — what mattered to me then and what matters to me now is making a difference. I'm not in office yet so I have no legal authority to act. But, I am still a citizen of the United States, a veteran of the United States Air Force, someone who has taken the oath of office, many times since 1973. That oath has no expiration date. Today, that difference is about ensuring the residents of D.C. — and every American city — are protected from unchecked federal overreach.

I urge every reader to share this bill with your representatives. Demand that Congress act now. We can’t wait until the mid-terms. Demand that they defend democracy where it matters most — in the heart of our capital — because FBI and DEA agents patrolling the streets of our nation's capital does not demonstrate democracy. Quite the contrary, it clearly demonstrates autocracy.

Davenport is a candidate for U.S. Congress, NC-06.