President-elect Donald Trump could be in a position to select the government’s top ethics czar when he assumes office in January – after a key ally in the Senate blocked President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Government Ethics.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah in September objected to the speedy Senate confirmation of David Huitema to the post – a little more than a year after he was first nominated by Biden. In a Senate speech, Lee said the confirmation vote should be delayed until after the presidential election, citing what he called the “political weaponization of the US government against Donald Trump by the Biden-Harris administration.”
Huitema has served as an ethics official with the State Department.
Lee’s office did not respond to a CNN inquiry Thursday about the nomination.
The Senate could return to the issue next week, during a lame duck session. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has taken steps to set up a procedural vote on several nominations, including Huitema’s, before the chamber flips to Republican control in January.
Independent watchdog groups outside the government say the agency, known as OGE, needs a permanent director to help oversee the onslaught of ethics reviews that are part of the transition to a new administration.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the liberal-leaning group Public Citizen, called the unfilled post “incredibly concerning.”
“We certainly think that ethics should not be a partisan game and holding over the placement of a new OGE director for a new administration to choose their new ethics point is exactly that,” Gilbert said.
Directors serve five-year terms, allowing them to overlap administrations as part of an attempt to reduce partisanship, she noted.
The federal agency is charged with monitoring compliance with ethics laws that are aimed at preventing corruption. It helps vet presidential nominees and navigates whether those entering government service should divest their assets to avoid conflicts of interest.
Traditionally, “these a relatively noncontroversial positions because they serve both Republican and Democratic administrations, and everybody put a priority on ethics,” said Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Trump, however, has consistently set aside historic norms.
His most recent financial disclosures as a candidate showed that he has continued to make millions off his properties, books and licensing deals. He and his family recently launched a new cryptocurrency business.
A sizable share of his net worth, meanwhile, is tied to the publicly traded parent company of Truth Social, the conservative social media network. Trump is the dominant shareholder.
A Trump spokesman did not respond to CNN’s inquiry.
Walter Shaub, the OGE director when Trump first took office in 2017, clashed repeatedly with the then-president at the start of Trump’s first term. Among other things, he openly criticized Trump for not relinquishing ownership of his real estate and licensing empire. Shaub resigned in July 2017 before his term ended.
At the time, Trump did not divest his interest in his business empire. Instead, he turned over management to two of his sons and a Trump Organization employee. Federal law does not require presidents to dispose of their assets before entering office, but previous officeholders took pains to avoid the appearance of improper dealings. Presidents ranging from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush stashed their assets in trusts that were independently managed.
The president-elect has not publicly announced how he will navigate potential conflicts in a second administration.
The previous OGE director, Trump appointee Emory Rounds, left the position in July 2023. Shelley Finlayson, a veteran agency staffer, serves as acting director.