Trump keeps his name out of transition ethics pledge, breaching a law he signed in 2020

President-elect Donald Trump’s team submitted an ethics pledge, which enshrines the guidelines of conduct the members of his cabinet are obligated to follow throughout the transition period. However, his name did not appear in the provision, which left many by surprise. The bipartisan bill to boost transparency and make sure incoming presidents stick to an ethics plan was passed by Congress in 2020, and it was Trump who signed it into law.

However, after winning the White House for the second time, Trump appears to have excluded himself from adhering to the guidelines, CNN reported. The Republican leader missed two months of deadlines before finally signing off an agreement with US President Joe Biden to kick start the transition period this week.

However, the transition agreement turned out to be unusual since it did not appear to include the president-elect’s pledge to avoid conflicts of interest while in office. This was a major requirement under the Presidential Transition Act he signed into law four years earlier. It is pertinent to note that Trump’s team has already turned down federal funding and office space for his transition team. His staff will not take part in the official government checks and security checks as well.

Democrats call out the anomaly

Senator Elizabeth Warren, who co-wrote the Presidential Transition Act, raised concerns about the move. “This announcement fails to answer key questions about national security threats and FBI vetting of nominees, and increases concerns about corruption,” she said.

“There appear to be serious gaps between the Trump transition’s ethics agreement and the letter of the law. The reliance on private donors to fund the transition is nothing more than a ploy for well-connected Trump insiders to line their pockets while pretending to save taxpayers’ money,” she added.

Despite all the changes, Trump’s signing of the transition agreement with the Biden administration this week paved the way for his team to begin entering offices and receive briefings from the current staff about the day-to-day operations of hundreds of federal agencies. Warren’s criticism came after Trump’s team said that it is turning down federal support “consistent with President Trump’s commitment to save taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

It is pertinent to note that accepting the money would have put a $5,000 cap on individual donations to the transition and required the public disclosure of donors. Meanwhile, Trump’s team maintained that they would not allow foreign contributions and would be disclosing its donors but did not reveal any guidelines for those pledges.

The team “will operate as a self-sufficient organization,” and its “organizational autonomy means a streamlined process,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement.

About the Presidential Transition Enhancement Act

It was Trump who signed the legislation in 2020. The law requires presidential candidates to “create and release an ethics plan for their transition team prior to the election.” The plan must disclose conflicts of interest for the president-elect and transition team members, as well as a code of ethical conduct that all staff must agree to.

“Trump’s alleged resistance to signing an ethics pledge is a red flag pointing to nothing so much as greed and corruption and an intention to enrich himself and/or his family through the extensive powers of his office,” said Virginia Kase Solomón with democracy advocacy group Common Cause, The Independent reported.

“Americans expect and deserve a president who prioritizes the nation’s well-being over personal gain,” she added. “They will not tolerate a president who abuses the powers of his office to line his own pockets.”

The plan asks transition team members to “avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest” and to “safeguard classified information” and “non-public information and other information that is not readily available to the public.” It also bars the team members from lobbying activities and prohibits them from serving as registered foreign agents while working during the transition.

Hence, many believe that Trump’s dismissal of ethics obligations is not only a “break from precedent” but a potentially “illegal” and “dangerous” scene-setter.

With inputs from agencies.