A federal ethics official raising questions about the speed of GOP confirmation efforts for President-elect Trump’s cabinet has strong ties to outgoing President Obama, missed Hillary Clinton’s ethical lapses and pushed tweets mocking the Republican.
Walter M. Schaub Jr. director of the Office of Government Ethics, has warned that his office is being rushed to clear the Trump picks. In a letter, he said that the confirmation schedule — very similar to the one Obama used in 2009 — is putting “undue pressure” on his office.
Several Senate Democrats have reacted by suggesting confirmation delays until OGE finishes its vetting, but some Republican chairmen have said they plan to stick to the same schedule as the Democrats followed when Obama’s cabinet was swept into office.
Research into Schaub by America Rising, the GOP research and communications organization, suggests that politics could be at play.
For example, he was appointed by Obama in 2013 after donating $500 to the president’s reelection.
His office was also called out for a post-election Twitter storm trolling Trump, even mocking how the Republican uses the social media site as it tried to pressure him to divest of financial holdings.
NPR reported that Schaub was behind the tweets, even listing nine he demanded his OGE staff post.
America Rising also noted that his office missed Clinton’s lapses while secretary of State. The group cited reports that OGE didn’t push Clinton over receiving high speech fees or potential help to Clinton Foundation donors.
It cited investigative reporting by the Examiner’s Sarah Westwood, who broke several stories about Clinton, indicating that OGE gave Clinton a pass.
The OGE concerns come as Senate Democrats are trying to put the brakes on the confirmation of Trump cabinet picks. His letter to Senate Democrats can be seen here.
But Republicans charge that the effort smacks of sour grapes and worse since past cabinets have been approved swiftly to allow the election winner to get to work fast.
“I know how it feels when you’re coming into a new situation and the other guy’s won the election,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CBS on Sunday.
“What did we do? We confirmed seven cabinet appointments the day President Obama was sworn in. We didn’t like most of them either. But he won the election. So all of these little procedural complaints are related to their frustrations,” he added.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
