On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we’re discussing a ProPublica investigation exposing deep financial and professional ties between more than 1,500 Trump appointees and the very industries they now regulate.
According to ProPublica, on his first day back in office, Trump rescinded an executive order signed by President Joe Biden that required his appointees to comply with an ethics pledge. The pledge barred them from working on issues related to their former lobbying topics or clients for two years. Weeks later, Trump fired 17 inspectors general charged with investigating fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest across the federal government. Around the same time, he removed the head of the Office of Government Ethics, the agency that oversees ethics compliance throughout the executive branch. The office is currently without a head or a chief of staff.
Against that backdrop, ProPublica has, over the past year, used the disclosure records to investigate how personal financial interests have intersected with government decision-making inside the Trump administration.
Guest:
Corey Johnson, Pulitzer winning reporter with ProPublica
Resources:
ProPublica: Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate
