Trump Transition Team: All Agency Nominees Will Comply With Ethics Laws
- November 26, 2024
Maaisha Osman, Inside Health Policy
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team spokesperson told Inside Health Policy Monday night (Nov. 25) that all agency nominees will adhere to ethics laws, which includes taking an ethics pledge and addressing any potential conflicts of interest under the federal statute.
The statement is significant because as of Monday night, Reuters reported the transition team had not yet signed agreements required by the Presidential Transition Act, which include a pledge that Trump and his team will avoid conflicts of interest once sworn into office, that would give the transition team access to employees and documents of federal agencies. Trump’s transition team was required to submit the ethics pledge by Oct. 1, according to the 1963 law that provides transition funding, according to Reuters.
Trump’s nominees to head CMS and FDA have been involved in companies they would regulate should they be confirmed, so ethics agreements would determine whether they would divest their interest in any companies they continue to have financial interest in or recuse themselves from agency activities involving those companies.
Michael Chamberlain, director at Protect the Public’s Trust, told IHP it is not uncommon for appointees to come into these roles with a list of investments they need to divest. “Generally, the appointee, or the person in the job, will get the list and they’ll divest of the investments that they’re required to,” he said.
Nominees for high-ranking government roles have historically resolved potential conflicts of interest by selling or divesting assets, as seen with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who shed holdings in relevant companies upon joining the Biden administration.