In response to the news that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned today after a months-long series of ethical scandals, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement: “Scott Pruitt was a walking conflict of interest. It’s good he finally decided to walk out the door. This is just the latest in a long line of ethical scandals from this administration. President Trump should look closely
Read MoreIn response to the House Ethics Committee’s statement today on the personal accountability of members of Congress that leave office after having paid harassment settlements with taxpayer money, as well as reform of the Congressional Accountability Act, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following comments: “Any time the House Ethics Committee chooses to enforce the ethics rules and
Read MoreIssue One Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy Meredith McGehee released the following statement in light of a newly-released Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) report regarding Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY): “The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) found that Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) violated insider trading laws and House rules by taking ‘official acts’ on behalf of the pharmaceutical company, Innate
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by former Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), Issue One ReFormers Caucus Co-Chair. Congress faces a party-straddling, demographic-spanning six percent approval rating from voters outside of the Swamp. As one voter said, “They don’t care about people like me anymore.” Americans believe Washington lacks integrity and that elected officials have forgotten it is character, constituents and consumers who really matter. But instead
Read MoreIn the aftermath of the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon, Congress established the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in 1978 to provide oversight of the executive branch and prevent — and resolve — conflicts of interest. The agency was eventually made independent in 1989 and currently oversees ethics standards for 2.7 million civilian employees in more than 130 executive agencies and the
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Issue One’s Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy Meredith McGehee has been working on government ethics-related issues in Washington for decades. Roll Call just named McGehee one of the Rising Stars of Advocacy on Capitol Hill. The paper defines the Rising Stars as “people who now wield power and influence in a Washington that has been turned upside down
Read MoreIssue One’s Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy Meredith McGehee released the following statement in response to questions about whether House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) violated House ethics rules when he allegedly revealed classified information to the public and to President Donald Trump. “Published reports have raised legitimate questions as to whether Chairman Nunes’ recent actions comport
Read MoreIssue One sent a letter to House Ethics Committee Chairwoman Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Ranking Member Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) calling on the committee to review current ethics rules and announce the schedule for open hearings related to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The Ethics Committee’s first public meeting of the 115th Congress on Wednesday, March 22, lasted
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In his joint address to Congress last night, President Trump laid out a broad agenda, from jobs and health care, to taxes and national security, for change in Washington. However, it failed to address the real culprit behind gridlock in Washington: the undue influence moneyed interests have on decision-making by elected and appointed officials. While the executive order on ethics
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You probably remember that the Monday before the 115th Congress was sworn in, in the dead of the night on a holiday, House Republicans tried (and failed) to pass rules to weaken the independent ethics office meant to police members of Congress. Last month, however, Meredith McGehee, Issue One’s Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy, highlighted one little-noticed rule that
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