WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump, in one of his final acts in office, released current and former members of his administration from the terms of his ethics pledge, which included a five-year ban on lobbying his former agencies.
The ethics pledge was outlined in one of Trump’s first executive orders, signed on January 28, 2017, as part of his campaign pledge to “drain the swamp”. He demanded that Trump’s political nominees agree with the ban on lobbying, as well as pledge not to do jobs that would compel them to register as a “foreign agent” after leaving the government. Trump’s order authorized the attorney general to investigate any violations of the ethics pledge and to take civil action if necessary.
Trump signed the revocation of an order page on Tuesday, and it was released by the White House shortly after 1 am on Wednesday, hours before the end of his term.
The new order states: “Officials and former employees subject to Executive Order 13770 commitments will not be subject to these commitments after noon on January 20, 2021.”
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President Bill Clinton signed a similar order with weeks remaining for his last term, allowing former advisers to enter the lobby directly after leaving his government.