Ethics Director Who Clashed With Trump Decides To Quit

WASHINGTON, DC — Walter Shaub, who as director of the independent Office of Government Ethics repeatedly criticized President Trump's failure to fully divest from his business empire, announced Thursday that he will resign his post. In a resignation letter he posted Thursday announcing he will step down July 19, Shaub made no mention of his frequent clashes with the White House. He later made clear in an interview, though, that he leaves office unsatisfied with the administration's regard for ethics.

"The great privilege and honor of my career has been to lead OGE's staff and the community of ethics officials in the federal executive branch," he wrote in his resignation letter, posted on Twitter. "They are committed to protecting the principle that public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain. I am grateful for the efforts of this dedicated and patriotic assembly of public servants, and I am proud to have served with them."

Interviewed by CBS, Shaub said he couldn't be sure if Trump and his family were "using the office to enrich themselves."

"There's an appearance that the businesses are profiting from his occupying the presidency," he said. "And appearance matters as much as reality."

In an interview with the Washington Post, Shaub said he wasn't being forced to leave. He said that he had done all he could to strengthen ethical standards within the Trump administration but that his office was helpless to do more.

“It’s clear that there isn’t more I could accomplish,” he told The Post. “In working with the current administration, it has become clear that we need to strengthen the ethics program.”

He told the Post that he will be taking a role as senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, where he hopes to lobby for bipartisan ethics reforms.

The ethics office was created in 1978 to promote and protect laws intended to prevent conflicts of interest by government officials.

Shaub's most common and forceful criticism of Trump centered on the potential conflicts caused by the president's businesses, choosing instead to temporarily place his sons in charge of them. Shaub criticized the plan as “wholly inadequate.” The director said the president's assets should be placed in a blind trust, which would exclude any family involvement to prevent Trump from making money based on decisions he could make while in office.

“The ethics program starts at the top,” he said in January. “We can’t risk creating the perception that government officials will use their positions for personal profit.”

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Thursday that, “the White House accepts Mr. Shaub’s resignation and appreciates his service.”

Democrats promised to scrutinize Trump's choice to replace him.

“Today is a sad day for the government’s ethics program," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. "I thank Director Shaub for his many years of dedicated service providing strong, independent, and steady leadership to the Office of Government Ethics, and for his staunch defense of the American people against the recent unprecedented violations of ethical standards by executive branch officials. I urge Chairman Gowdy to invite Director Shaub to testify before our Committee about the lessons he has learned while leading OGE, including the need to implement substantive reforms to ensure government officials can never put private gain above the public that they serve."

Photo Credit: USDA, Stephen Thompson