'Nothing but a pattern': Ethics advocates alarmed by delay for House watchdog [View all]
Source: Roll Call
Posted April 14, 2025 at 3:23pm
More than three months into the 119th Congress, House leaders have not yet appointed board members of the Office of Congressional Conduct, hamstringing the ethics office and its mission. Failure to appoint the board of the OCC — an independent, nonpartisan office that reviews allegations of misconduct against House lawmakers and staff — is alarming on its own, according to some transparency advocates. But they also see a larger trend during the second administration of Donald Trump, as other ethics and accountability bodies come under fire.
“It shows this tone that’s been set in the executive branch that officials don’t have to prioritize ethics. You see that across all three branches,” said Kedric Payne, vice president and general counsel at Campaign Legal Center and a former employee of the OCC (which was known as the Office of Congressional Ethics until lawmakers renamed it in January). “We’re very concerned,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. “It can be seen as nothing but a pattern, and one that has real ramifications for corruption and abuse and fraud.”
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, he has targeted many of the independent watchdogs meant to hold the federal government accountable. He quickly fired more than a dozen inspectors general, several of whom sued the administration. He ousted the heads of the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Special Counsel. And his administration has removed officials tasked with handling Freedom of Information Act requests, an important tool for the public and the media to compel the release of documents.
In a letter sent to House members on Monday, advocates said the delay has effectively closed the OCC, and they called on leaders to act. “When elected officials are credibly accused of unethical, corrupt, or illegal acts, the public has the right to know that such allegations will be investigated,” the letter reads.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/04/14/ethics-advocates-alarmed-by-delay-for-house-watchdog-office/
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/Final%20OCC%20Board%20Letter.pdf
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