Ethics responsibilities are an important aspect of public service. Many of the rules exist to ensure public officials are not using their positions of public trust for private gain for themselves or those around them, such as former employers. Just as importantly, they exist to maintain public confidence that their government is not making decisions arbitrarily or based on inappropriate biases.

At times, public servants are granted waivers from strict ethics requirements that allow them to work on matters that may involve former employers or others with whom the public servant has a “covered relationship.” While this an accepted practice, waivers should be limited in number and scope and should not be granted simply because of a former employer’s strong political or media connections. When this occurs, it undermines the single standard all Americans expect of their government and is not how ethics rules are supposed to work.

Thus far the Administration has granted 50 waivers, including several to former labor union officials. Some former government ethics officials have defended the waivers, saying the individuals’ service is necessary and in the public interest. Yet others dispute this, claiming the former employers of the waiver recipients stand to reap significant financial and political benefits from the Administration’s proposed policies and that these waivers could represent a case of potential benefit and an appearance of bias that ethics rules are meant to prevent.

Protect the Public’s Trust is tracking agency decisions to grant waivers and impartiality decisions with a full list below. We will also be submitting FOIA requests to ensure the public stays up to speed on what potential conflicts of interest are being waived.