Executive Order 13770: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees

This order changes the existing ethics pledge that every person must sign when becoming a member of the executive branch. Specifically, it includes a requirement that every executive branch appointee not lobby with their agency for five years after they leave office; this does not affect previous appointees, who can still lobby within that five-year period. Officials lobbying after leaving office has been very common, but it can arguably provide conflicts of interest; there’s been lots of worry about potential employers manipulating current appointees by tying a possible future job to a specific agency decision. This new pledge also forever bars appointees from working as a foreign agent. (Unregistered foreign agents coming onto Trump’s team have already been a problem for him during the campaign, as you can read in the Mueller report.)  Both of these provisions prevent things that many Americans have problems with, and were among Trump’s campaign promises.

Several Trump appointees have already broken this pledge, without repercussion. Doug Erickson has even lobbied for the nondemocratic state of Cambodia while serving as a state legislator, after having been legally required to sign this pledge as an executive branch employee. However, it’s unclear how many people have actually broken this rule, so further investigation is needed; it’s possible that this rule is very effective.

The previous pledge could only be waived by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget with the advice of the Counsel to the President (or whomever they designate). The current pledge can only be waived by the President himself (or whomever he designates). This shifts power from a generally apolitical functionary who reports to the president to the president himself, increasing the personal power of the executive and possibly allowing them to benefit or punish anyone in the executive branch. Instantly, it calls to mind James Comey’s assertion that Trump asked him for personal loyalty. However, all waivers granted are listed publicly on the White House website, and everything seems above board. (There was actually a significant kerfuffle when White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney initially refused to release the waivers, but the White House yielded to legal pressure from the Office of Government Ethics and began releasing them.)  Though many of these waivers allow prior lobbyists to work in the White House while continuing contact with a former employer, it’s standard practice to allow this, as it’s generally understood that, if you want to find experts on an issue, one of the best places to look is within lobbying organizations.