Robert Phillip Storch is an American lawyer and government official who served as the inspector general in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

from 2022 to January 2025. He previously served as the inspector general of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

Education

Storch earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1982 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1986.

Career

After law school, he clerked for

William Duffy Keller William Duffy Keller (born October 29, 1934) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Education and career Born in Los Angele ...

of the

Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...

. From 1995 to 2012, Storch worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York, where he served as deputy criminal chief and counsel to the U.S. attorney. He was a DOJ Resident Legal Advisor in Ukraine from 2007 to 2009. Storch has also served as chief of the Appellate Division and senior litigation counsel, as the District of Columbia's Anti-Terrorism coordinator, at the Public Integrity Section of the

United States Department of Justice Criminal Division The United States Department of Justice Criminal Division is a federal agency of the United States Department of Justice that develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States. Criminal Divisi ...

. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Florida and worked as an associate at

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

. He was previously the deputy inspector general at the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General Whistleblower Ombudsperson, and chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Whistleblower Ombudsman Working Group. Storch was nominated by President Obama in November 2016 and in January 2017 to become Inspector General of the

and renominated for the position by President Trump on June 19, 2017. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmed Storch's nomination on December 21, 2017. He assumed the role on January 2, 2018, and resigned on December 6, 2022. Storch was nominated by President Biden in November 2021 to become Inspector General of the Department of Defense, a position for which no nominee had received Senate confirmation since 2016. The Senate confirmed the nomination on November 30, 2022, in a 92–3 vote. Storch assumed the role on December 6, 2022. On January 24, 2025, he was fired by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

along with several other inspectors general; the legality of the firing remains in question.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/24/trump-fire-inspectors-general-federal-agencies/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storch, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Harvard College alumni Columbia Law School alumni 21st-century American lawyers First Trump administration personnel Biden administration personnel Inspectors General (IGs) dismissed by Donald Trump Inspectors general removed or fired by Donald Trump