Ethics

Office of Government Ethics Seeks Feedback on Upcoming Strategic Plan

New objectives are slated to focus on equity and broader outreach. 

  • Courtney Bublé

Inside William Barr’s Breakup With Trump

In the final months of the administration, the doggedly loyal attorney general finally had enough.

  • Jonathan D. Karl, The Atlantic

GOP Lawmakers Question Ethics Waivers for Former Union Officials at OMB, OPM

House Republicans asked why Democrats have not objected to the use of ethics waivers by the Biden administration, although experts took no issue with the appointees in question.

  • Erich Wagner

Ethics Experts Say Administration’s Hiring of Top Biden Advisor’s Kids Raises Questions

A White House official said the Ricchettis have relevant qualifications for their jobs and their levels of experience are similar to those of their predecessors.

  • Courtney Bublé

Analysis: Trump’s DOJ Was More Dangerous Than We Knew

Revelations since Biden’s inauguration are adding detail to a portrait of ethical decay at the department.

  • David A. Graham

GovExec Daily: Brian Miller and Pandemic Oversight

Courtney Bublé joins the podcast to discuss her conversation with the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery and other oversight stories.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

Why Is the FDA Funded in Part by the Companies It Regulates?

The FDA receives almost half its funding from companies it regulates, such as drug and medical device makers. Is this something you should be concerned about?

  • C. Michael White, The Conversation

Were Biden’s Ethics Waivers for Labor Ties Justified?

“Not all ethics waivers are bad,” said a former director of the Office of Government Ethics.

  • Courtney Bublé

The Model for Fixing the DOJ

Joe Biden has inherited a department plagued by scandal, just as Gerald Ford did in 1974.

  • Andrew Kent, The Atlantic

Documents Show Trump Officials Skirted Rules to Reward Politically Connected and Untested Firms With Huge Pandemic Contracts

House Democrats investigating the COVID-19 response say Trump adviser Peter Navarro pressured agencies to award deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • J. David McSwane, ProPublica

Birx Joins Air-Cleaning Industry Amid Land Grab for Billions in Federal COVID Relief

Air-cleaning companies with limited oversight are targeting a growing market of schools desperate for COVID-19 protection. Donald Trump’s former adviser lands with one that built its business, in part, on ozone-emitting technology.

  • Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett, Kaiser Health News

GovExec Daily: The Hatch Act, Enforcement and Congress

The Project on Government Oversight's Walter Shaub and Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette rejoin the podcast to discuss how ethics rules can be strengthened.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

GovExec Daily: Biden's Ethics Executive Order

Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub and his Project on Government Oversight colleague Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette join the podcast to discuss the president's first-day order.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler
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Senate Will Soon Consider Extra Paid Leave and Ethics Crackdown for Feds

Final legislative details affecting feds for two sweeping packages winding their way to the Senate.

  • Eric Katz

It’s not Just Trump – Presidents and Politicians Have Long Shredded Etiquette

'Mind your manners' isn't just something your mother told you. Manners – and civility – are an essential component of how things get done in government, and the Founding Fathers knew it.

  • Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation

A Million-Dollar Pardon Offer at the Trump Hotel

Corey Lewandowski allegedly wanted a hefty fee in exchange for helping a government whistleblower win a pardon from the former president.

  • Peter H. Stone, The Atlantic

Viewpoint: January 6 Was Just One Day in a Sustained Campaign

The impeachment trial offers a chance to show how Donald Trump tried to undermine the election’s legitimacy for months—not just on the day of the Capitol attack.

  • Richard Pildes, The Atlantic

The Government Donald Trump Left Behind

Trump ultimately fell short on many of his signature promises, but his administration’s successes in cutting taxes, rolling back regulations and reshaping the judiciary will cast a long shadow.

  • Chris Morran, ProPublica

Will Merrick Garland, Joe Biden’s Pick for Attorney General, Be Independent in that Role? History Says It’s Unlikely

History shows that attorneys general who are picked by – and serve at the pleasure of – the president are not as independent as they may be expected to be.

  • Joshua Holzer, The Conversation

Biden Issues Sweeping Ethics Plan for Appointees

Hours before departing the White House, former President Trump revoked his own ethics pledge, allowing current and former Trump appointees to immediately become lobbyists.

  • Courtney Bublé

Trump’s D.C. Hotel Under Renewed Scrutiny 

The Capitol riots, Trump’s second impeachment and the upcoming change in administrations raise new questions about whether the General Services Administration will continue the lease. 

  • Courtney Bublé