The Office of Government Ethics on Monday announced that President Donald Trump is removing the agency’s director.
David Huitema was confirmed at the end of President Joe Biden’s administration for a five-year term. OGE is heavily involved with political appointments and helps nominees address conflicts of interest.
Trump’s previous OGE chief, Emory Rounds, had several dustups with the president during his first term, including threatening to hold up any ethics agreement with officials who refused to comply with the office's requests.
Because Trump delayed initiation of the official presidential transition process, OGE was occasionally behind in completing reviews of the president’s nominees, which held up some of their confirmations.
Also on Monday, Hampton Dellinger filed a lawsuit to block his removal as leader of the Office of Special Counsel.
"Since my arrival at OSC last year, I could not be more proud of all we have accomplished. The agency's work has earned praise from advocates for whistleblowers, veterans and others,” Dellinger said in a distributed statement. “The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis — none — which means it is illegal.”
Dellinger on Friday evening received a one-sentence email from the White House that said: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately.”
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