Watchdog Unveils Ethics Blueprint to Combat ‘Blatant Corruption’ in Potential Trump Term 2

A prominent U.S. watchdog group on Thursday released a detailed proposal aimed at enhancing ethics across the federal government’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches. This move comes in response to what they see as insufficient reforms from Democrats and the potential for escalated “scandals and blatant corruption” if former Republican President Donald Trump secures a second term.

The document by the Revolving Door Project, dubbed Rebuilding Public Trust: Six Principles to Guide Reform, points out that “trust in the U.S. government is at near historic lows, a situation that worsened during the overt corruption witnessed during the Trump administration and has persisted thereafter.”

The report criticizes both Democratic and Republican administrations for their minimal progress in curbing routine corruption, which in combination with high-profile scandals, has eroded public trust. It particularly notes that President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order on ethics, while an improvement, did not sufficiently address the necessary reforms needed to curtail the interchange between private and public sectors, enforce divestitures, or enhance transparency.

“The forthcoming administration will critically test the ethical governance of the federal government.”

The paper also criticizes Congressional Democrats for their reluctance to tackle everyday corruption, pointing to recent trading scandals involving Democrats and the resistance by figures such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to straightforward reforms like banning stock trading by Congress members.

It further highlights ethical issues within the Supreme Court and broader federal judiciary, where investigative journalism has uncovered failures to disclose expensive trips funded by affluent supporters and conflicts of interest in cases affecting their financial interests. According to the report, even mainstream proposals for judicial ethics fall short of holding the judiciary to the same standards expected of Congress.

The publication outlines “six principles for guiding ethics reform”:

• Outlaw any practices that could be perceived as corrupt;
• Successful ethics programs should include clear, straightforward rules that are easy to implement and enforce;
• Ethics rules must be comprehensive in terms of who and what they cover;
• Differentiate between corporate lobbying for private gain and advocacy by public interest groups;
• Ethics offices need legal authority, independence, and resources to effectively identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who violate rules; and
• A strong ethics system should actively seek public scrutiny rather than avoid it.

By restricting the revolving door and prohibiting political appointees, federal judges, Supreme Court justices, and Congress members from owning individual stocks, “the next administration and Congress could substantially rebuild American trust that the government serves the public, not corporate interests,” said Andrew Beaty, research director and co-author of the report.

Trump, whose presidency was plagued by numerous conflicts of interest and other allegations of misconduct, remains one of the most conflicted presidents in U.S. history due to his extensive business dealings with foreign nations and industries regulated by federal law.

A recent report by Democrats from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee reveals that Trump utilized his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to accrue hundreds of illegal or ethically questionable payments from government officials, job-seekers, and individuals seeking presidential pardons while in office.

“With Trump openly hinting at a return to overt corruption and American trust in government alarmingly low, the ethical integrity of the next administration will be a decisive factor,” stated Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project.

“Without prioritizing substantial ethics reforms, public confidence in government will continue to decline,” he continued. “Should blatant ethical violations recur, it is imperative that political opposition leverage every tool at their disposal to push through ethics reforms and mitigate potential damage.”