The Trump administration is resisting a government watchdog’s request for documentation on former lobbyists who are working in the federal government.
Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub wanted the White House to provide copies of any ethics waivers granted to Trump administration officials throughout the executive branch. The White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney intervened and told agencies that the request might exceed Shaub’s authority.
When that move drew criticism from the Government Ethics Office, Mulvaney accused it of political bias.
“This request, in both its expansive scope and breathless timetable, demanded that we seek further legal guidance,” Mulvaney’s office said in a statement to the New York Times. “The very fact that this internal discussion was leaked implies that the data being sought is not being collected to satisfy our mutual high standard of ethics.”
Shaub, who was appointed to his post by former President Barack Obama, criticized the decision. “It is an extraordinary thing,” he said. “I have never seen anything like it.”
His predecessor in the George W. Bush administration concurred. “It challenges the very authority of the director of the agency and his ability to carry out the functions of the office,” Marilyn Glynn said.
Trump’s team has held tightly to some documents that could provide insight into the operations of the executive branch. The administration decided in January not to continue publishing records of people who visit the White House, a transparency measure that the Obama administration touted when it published those records.
Trump’s spokesman defended the move in part by noting the president’s promise to stop lobbyists from shuttling between government and the private sector.
“By instituting historic restrictions on lobbying to close the revolving door, expanding and elevating ethics within the White House Counsel’s office, and opening the White House Press Briefing room to media outlets that otherwise cannot gain access, the Trump administration has broken new ground in ensuring our government is both ethical and accessible to the American people,” said Michael Dubke, White House communications director. “Given the grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, the White House Office will disclose Secret Service logs as outlined under the Freedom of Information Act, a position the Obama White House successfully defended in federal court.”
