Departing Ethics Chief Says U.S. "Pretty Much a Laughingstock At This Point"

What’s the story?

In an exclusive interview with the New York Times, departing director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Walter Shaub, Jr. suggested that the U.S. is "pretty close to a laughingstock at this point" and called for extensive changes to the federal government’s ethics program.

Why does it matter?

Since before the inauguration Shaub, who resigned his post effective Tuesday, has clashed with the administration over ethics issues. He maintains that the Trump administration has created an "ethics crisis" that needs to be addressed with a variety of reforms. His replacement will have to be approved by the Senate. However, it is the leadership of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who have offered to meet with Shaub to discuss his recommendations.

Some recommendations are likely to be widely supported and easily instituted. Some? Not so much. On the "easy" list are: making the Director of the OGE only removable with cause and upon 30-day notice to Congress, and making all 4,000 political appointees in the government subject to the same rules regarding ethics agreements and conflicts of interest.

Slightly more difficult to institute will likely be granting the OGE limited subpoena power to ensure compliance with ethics rules, allowing the OGE to submit budget requests directly to Congress instead of through the Office of Management and Budget, and requiring all federal employees to disclose assets placed in trusts as well as all business liabilities and debts in interests they control.

The hardest sell? Requiring all presidential and vice-presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns to the Federal Election Commission and file them with the Office of Government Ethics. President Trump has never disclosed his tax returns. He intends to run in 2020; it would be unsurprising if he objects to this rule change. Currently, candidates must only comply with a more limited financial disclosure, which he has done.

What can you do?

Do you support any or all of Shaub’s recommendations to expand the federal government’s ethics program? Are you concerned about ethical issues with the current administration?

Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: USDA via Flickr / Creative Commons)