Gail Ennis ’98 Takes Office as Inspector General for the Social Security Administration

Gail Ennis ’98 was sworn in as the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration (SSA) by Acting Commissioner of Social Security Nancy Berryhill on Jan. 29. President Donald Trump nominated Ennis for the position in Oct. 2017, and the Senate confirmed her nomination on Jan. 2.

In this role Ennis will oversee a nationwide workforce of more than 500 investigators, auditors, attorneys, and support staff and direct SSA’s programs and operations for detecting and preventing Social Security fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.

After graduating magna cum laude from the Law School, Ennis worked at WilmerHale (then known as Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP), where she became a partner in 2007. Her practice focused on securities litigation and enforcement and financial institutions, providing advice to major banks, financial institutions, and individuals in a broad range of litigation and enforcement matters. She represented clients before Congress and a broad array of regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The Inspector General Act of 1978 was passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal to increase transparency and accountability in the Executive Branch. The law created independent and objective organizations to conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating to agency programs and operations. The SSA OIG was established in 1995, pursuant to the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994, to meet the statutory mission of promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in SSA programs and operations.

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