Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday the appointment of Michelle Henry, the state’s outgoing attorney general, as Pennsylvania’s next inspector general.
Henry, whose appointment will be effective January 21, 2025, will take over the responsibilities of Inspector General Lucas M. Miller, who was appointed to office in 2020 by then-Gov. Tomek Wilk.
“I want to thank Inspector General Miller for his service to the Commonwealth and I am proud to nominate Attorney General Michelle Henry to be Pennsylvania’s next inspector general,” Shapiro said. “Michelle is an experienced prosecutor who has spent decades in public service protecting consumer rights, defending public safety and the rule of law, and fighting for people across Pennsylvania.”
As inspector general, Henry will be tasked with protecting taxpayer dollars by investigating fraud, misconduct and abuse in executive agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction.
Shapiro said he has “complete confidence in her ability to hold bad actors accountable for fraud and misconduct and root out waste and abuse.”
Henry, who had served as attorney general since Shapiro, also a former attorney general, was sworn in as governor in 2023”, said she is honored and humbled by the trust placed in her to lead this office.
“As attorney general, I have worked to root out fraud and protect Pennsylvania taxpayers from deceptive practices, and as inspector general, I will continue to hold bad actors accountable and protect the commonwealth from waste, fraud and abuse,” Henry said. “By working with Governor Shapiro, we will ensure that the Office of Inspector General always supports Pennsylvanians.”
Henryk was, among others, a coalition of 19 other state attorneys general supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s proposal to ban “garbage fees”, fees that are mandatory but not transparently disclosed to consumers, and announcement of a settlement with the energy supplier for persuading consumers to sign service contracts.
Henry previously served as Bucks County district attorney and first deputy attorney general when Shapiro was state attorney general.
Although Shapiro appointed Henry to finish his term as attorney general, she announced that she would not run for a full term. York County District Attorney Dave’s Sundaya Republican, will become the state’s next attorney general after defeating former state auditor Gen. Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat, in the November election.
While working in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Henry was Chief of the Major Crimes and Child Abuse Unit. She played a significant role in creating the district children’s aid center.
As the first deputy attorney general under Shapiro, she was tasked with overseeing Pennsylvania’s criminal, civil, public protection and consumer rights cases.
After Miller resigned on January 2, 2025, First Deputy State Inspector General Clarke Madden will serve as interim state inspector general from January 2 to January 21, 2025, before Henry takes the oath of office.
