Hon. Eric J. Soskin

Eric Soskin is the team leader for Florida’s DOGE initiative, identifying wasteful and  unnecessary spending within the state government, local governments, state colleges, and  universities as Senior Advisor to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served in  the federal government as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation, as  Senior Trial Counsel and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department  of Justice.  

In extending the DOGE mission to Florida, Gov. DeSantis and Mr. Soskin are assuring that  citizens receive efficient and effective government at all levels of our federal system, as  taxpayers are entitled to expect. Florida has long been a leader in efficient state  government, relying on the fewest state employees per capita to deliver government  services with excellence and reliability. Nevertheless, there is more to be done to take  advantage of this inspiring moment of public enthusiasm for government reform efforts.  

Mr. Soskin was previously nominated by President Trump, and confirmed by the Senate, as  the 7th Inspector General of the Department of Transportation. As IG, he provided oversight  to the programs and operations of DOT, guiding audits that identified improvements to the  Department’s efficiency and effectiveness as well as opportunities to combat waste and  fraud. He also led DOT’s principal law enforcement component, with over 100 federal law  enforcement officers investigating crimes against America’s transportation networks.  While serving, he introduced mandatory training for law enforcement agents in the First  and Second Amendments, and educated all agency staff in the U.S. Constitution and  highlights from American history. When President Trump removed nearly all then-serving  IGs in 2025, Mr. Soskin filed an amicus brief in support of the President’s authority to do so,  explaining why IGs should be treated as principal officers for whom statutory removal  restrictions cannot be constitutional.  

During 14 years at the Department of Justice, Mr. Soskin specialized in constitutional and  administrative law, representing the President, Cabinet officials and agencies, and law  enforcement in district court. His work included defending President Trump’s Executive  Orders on immigration, the public-charge rule, and actions to assert the state secrets  privilege and other executive privileges. Mr. Soskin also served as one of DOJ’s leading  experts in Second Amendment and firearms litigation and spent four years defending  habeas petitions brought by Al Qaeda terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay. He also  taught trial advocacy, deposition practice, and received the Attorney General’s 2nd highest  award for his work on Supreme Court confirmations.  

Mr. Soskin graduated from Williams College and Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge  Paul S. Diamond of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.