Mike joined The Heritage Foundation in October 2018 from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the General Counsel, where he was the chief legal point of contact for the department’s 3,000-lawyer office for all congressional oversight and investigations that concerned any of the department’s headquarters or component offices. There he dealt with congressional staff regarding document requests, transcribed interviews and depositions, legislation, and correspondence. Prior to joining the Trump administration in this capacity, he was on the Hill from 2013-2017 as an attorney for both the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight Committee. 

While on the Hill, he led national security investigations into various Obama administration controversies, including security failures at the U.S. Secret Service, corruption at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (which resulted in the resignations of two Acting Inspector Generals, on two separate occasions), and the handling of overseas terrorism incidents. Prior to this, he worked in Atlanta Immigration Court, for both Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys and then Immigration Judges from the Executive Office of Immigration Review. 

At Heritage, Mike serves as the government relations liaison to the executive branch, where he interacts with several senior officials in the immigration space on matters of policy. He is frequently quoted on matters of immigration and congressional oversight, and also writes on these topics. He is a graduate of Duke University and Emory Law School and an Alexandria, Virginia native.