Government ethics leader Walter Shaub, who clashed with Trump White House, resigns

Source: United States Office of Government Ethics.

Walter Shaub, Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics.

The OGE, an independent executive branch agency that helps officials avoid conflicts of interest, took on more prominence in the Trump administration as a possible check on self-enrichment by government officials. Trump, a businessman with sprawling global holdings, filled the top ranks of his administration with wealthy business people, creating various issues the OGE raised concerns about in the early months of Trump’s presidency.

The agency does not have disciplinary power in the executive branch — it can only recommend actions for the White House to take. Shaub’s resignation means Trump will get to choose an official in charge of overseeing his administration’s ethical issues.

Shaub had publicly called for Trump to sell his businesses, something the president did not do. His sons now run his businesses.

Shaub also recommended that the White House punish Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway in February after she made an apparent pitch for a clothing line from Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter. In addition, he clashed with the administration over a request for copies of waivers granted to officials, some of whom were former lobbyists, to work in the executive branch.

No one in the White House pushed Shaub to leave, he told The Washington Post. He said it was “clear that there isn’t more I could accomplish.”