By Heather Timmons and Gabriella Borter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top U.S. ethics officials charged with curbing government employee conflicts of interest are set to take the hotseat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump’s new cabinet and other appointees announce their financial assets. and have prepared for their new jobs.
“We are in contact with the transition team and are working with them,” David Huitema said recently when he sat down with Reuters for his first official interview since being sworn into the job on Dec. 16. The inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20. will be on
Ethics experts say the Office of Government Ethics, or OGE, is in the spotlight during any presidential transition, but Huttema faces special challenges ahead of Trump’s second term, for Trump, his family and advisers. Countless assess business relationships.
Experts point to the short, rocky tenure of Walter Schaub, the last person to hold the job when Trump entered the White House, and note that several of Trump’s latest nominees have expressed disdain for the agencies they will run.
After nine years as ethics chief at the U.S. State Department, Huitema vetted dozens of new Senate nominees and thousands of political appointees for potential financial and personal conflicts. will lead OGE’s standard work of helping
If he does his job well, chances are good Huitema could be fired immediately, Schaub warned in an open letter last month. Huitema told Reuters he had faith in the intentions of most new entrants to the government.
He shared his thoughts on ethics education and maintaining public trust, but declined to answer specific questions about the incoming administration. The ethics office works only with potential government employees, he noted. That means it won’t scrutinize outside advisers like billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has asked to recommend cuts in government spending.
Q: What exactly does OGE do?
A: “The ultimate goal is to ensure that federal employees are making decisions based on the national interest and the administration’s policy priorities rather than any personal interest, especially financial interests. … OGE itself is a small agency of about 75 employees. There is, but we work with a team of nearly 4,000 ethics officers, who are directly involved with federal employees.”
An important immediate task, he said, “along with nominee financial disclosure, will help ensure that nominees for Senate confirmed positions meet their requirements for full disclosure of their financial interests and arrangements.”
question How does the financial disclosure process work with presidential nominees? A: Generally, he said, nominees for top jobs file early reports to help the office “identify potential conflicts or steps the nominee might have to take if they are confirmed.” is so that all that information is available to the Senate and the officials so that they know what they are doing themselves.”
question What kind of time limits are there? When do people have to make these disclosures? A. He said nominees “must submit a report within five days of their nomination. … Our goal is to help these incoming officials, help the Senate, and do it as efficiently as possible.”
He noted that “any member of the public may request a copy of any financial disclosure report filed with OGE”. “The idea is that the public, too, can help play a role in monitoring conflicts of interest.”
question What is the enforcement mechanism if there are conflicts of interest? A: “It’s not so much if a conflict arises on the form itself, but whether any federal employee is ultimately engaged in work that conflicts with their financial interests.
“The conflict of interest law is a criminal law, so the last resort is prosecution by the Department of Justice. Our role is really to help advise employees to avoid that situation…
“We will work with agency ethics officials if we become aware of a potential conflict of interest issue to ensure that it is resolved, ultimately we also work with the Department of Justice if necessary.”
Q: As the State Department’s chief of ethics, what lessons did you learn?
A: “Most workers, careers and appointees, want to follow the law and act with integrity and they appreciate the help of ethics officers…” Q: In your congressional testimony, you said that you think Maybe OGE can help with that. “A struggle against the growing cynicism and mistrust that may undermine our democratic self-government.” can you explain A. “We want to ensure that employees… do not act based on personal interests, especially financial interests and personal motivations. …
“Federal ethics rules in practice may be more limited in their actual scope than people appreciate, so people’s perceptions that there is a particular issue in complying with federal ethics laws may not be well-founded.
question What are some examples of interests that are not important enough to raise red flags?
A. “Financial conflict of interest laws…are perfectly fine in terms of their scope. You either have enough stock to create a conflict or you don’t.”
question Can morality be taught? For people coming from the business side, interactions are often based around “how can I use this to benefit me or my company”.
A. “I hope so because there are so many ethics training requirements,” he said with a laugh. He agreed that officials coming from the private sector are used to “networking and ‘what can you do to benefit someone so they can benefit you’… It is a challenge to ensure that those officials and New employees understand that the expectations they have within the government are slightly different…”
question What happens if DOJ doesn’t take ethics laws seriously? Where does that leave you?
A. “Criminal prosecution is an extreme, but applicable at the agency level in matters of discipline.”
Q. The president can exempt a person from conflict of interest laws, right? Is this something that OGE might push back on, or advise against?
A. “In certain cases the President and agency heads or officials … may grant waivers” but must consult with OGE. He said waivers can be granted when “the potential conflict of interest is not considered significant. Ultimately OGE needs to know when waivers are issued. They can be made public.”
