A Tennessee congresswoman thinks government bureaucrats, not President-elect Trump’s transition team, are the reason why ethics reports on Trump’s Cabinet nominees have not been sent to the Senate.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said on CNN Monday that the Office of Government Ethics needs to work harder on getting the ethics reports on Trump’s Cabinet picks done. She said a letter sent by the office’s director, Walter Schaub, last week appeared to be a deflection from the office’s own issues.
“Lots of time in D.C. we’ll say, maybe these guys need to realize they need to work more than 40 hours in a week to get the job done,” she said. “I would encourage them to pick up the pace.”
Schaub sent a letter to top senators last week that said it’s worried about the upper chamber moving forward on confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks without ethics reports being completed.
According to Schaub, the transition team hasn’t sent over all the necessary paperwork to the Office of Government Ethics, and said that’s why his office is behind on vetting several Cabinet selections.
Blackburn said that sounded like a convenient excuse covering up the office’s own slow pace.
“They don’t have empty desks over there, and that is the point,” she said. “If they were working to the point that they have completed everything, they would have the right to say that, but they don’t. We know paperwork is going in to them in a timely manner and they’re running a little bit behind.”
Blackburn said she’s not worried the slow pace will cause issues with the administration.
“I have every confidence that he is going to be in compliance with government ethics requirements,” she said.
