Lobbyists Working in White House Haven’t Signed Waivers
Remember when Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp?
Well, there are about a half-dozen former lobbyists working in Trump’s White House, but they haven’t received waivers from the administration’s ethics rules, according to Politico.
This raises questions about how much the rules do to actually prevent conflicts of interest.
Trump has granted exemptions from the rules for a handful of staffers, which has been done by presidents previously.
But, what makes this worse, at least six former lobbyists now working in the White House haven’t received such waivers, meaning they must recuse themselves internally from any issue where they have conflicts, according to the White House.
This has drawn criticism from Democratic members of Congress and ethics lawyers who question whether officials with broad portfolios can recuse themselves from a wide array of issues.
“I have been concerned by the number of White House staff who have already received ethics waivers this year,” Sen. Al Franken said in a statement.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters responded: “Employees who have not received waivers have been advised of their need to recuse where the law requires.”
Because we all know Trump and his associates aren’t the best rule followers.
Government Ethics Office Rejects Trump Attempt To Block Disclosure Of Its Ethics Waivers
