"The primary mission of the executive branch ethics program is to prevent conflicts of interest on the part of executive branch employees, by working to ensure that they make impartial decisions based on the public interest, serve as good stewards of public resources, and loyally adhere to the Constitution and laws of the United States," OGE's mission statement reads.
Six months into Mr. Trump's first term in 2017, Walter Shaub resigned as the head of OGE, saying the Trump White House abandoned the "norms and ethical traditions of the executive branch that have made our ethics program the gold standard in the world until now."
"The removal of David Huitema as the director of the Office of Government Ethics is the latest in a string of firings directly aimed at the accountability offices in the executive branch," said Caitlin MacNeal, communications director for the Project on Government Oversight. "The firings remove our systems of checks and balances at a time when the wealthiest man in the world is operating inside the government with vast and unprecedented financial conflicts of interest. So it's particularly alarming that the administration has fired the official in specifically charged with policing ethics."
"This follows his firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel and 17 inspectors general," Sherman said. "Together, these actions will streamline any efforts he and his administration make to personally profit, install loyalists and avoid oversight of corruption and waste. By all indications, Trump is planning to run a lawless administration and these unprecedented moves are an alarming first step to put those plans into action."
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