Topline
Ethics watchdogs who frequently criticized former President Donald Trump for his administration’s many Hatch Act violations, conflicts of interest and hiring of family members are now doing the same with President Joe Biden amid revelations at least five of his top aides’ children have landed jobs in the administration.
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in ... [+]
Key Facts
Former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub, a frequent Trump critic who resigned early in his presidency, accused Biden of “nepotism” and said he is “disgusted” in a series of tweets.
Shaub was reacting to a report by the Washington Post that detailed jobs given to three children of White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, the daughter of deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed and the daughter of director of presidential personnel Cathy Russell.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told the Post that Biden has “instituted the highest ethical standards” of any president and “staffed the most diverse administration in American history with well-qualified nominees.”
Shaub said the issue “isn’t whether they were qualified,” but that they may have gotten a leg up – while also pointing to Ricchetti’s son’s relative lack of apparent qualifications compared to other hires at his level in the Treasury Department.
Jenna Grande, a spokesperson for CREW, a watchdog group that kept tabs on Trump’s ethical lapses and filed many Hatch Act complaints against Trump officials, told Forbes the hires risk creating “the same culture that existed” under Trump, urging “appropriate boundaries, firewalls and recusals.”
Beth Rotman, a director at the watchdog group Common Cause, told Forbes the hires send a message that “powerful family ties may just land you your very own career,” warning it’s “unhealthy for our democracy to continue down this path” and calling for a “competitive hiring process.”
Forbes has reached out to the White House for comment.
Key Background
Biden has instituted government ethics rules that are in some ways stronger than those of both Trump and former President Barack Obama. He also pledged in February not to hire any family members for administration jobs – a stark contrast with Trump, who appointed his daughter and son-in-law as top White House aides – but that did not extend to aides’ family members.
Crucial Quote
Shaub launched into a broader criticism of Biden’s hiring practices as well, tweeting, “We've got a Raytheon board member leading DOD... private equity fund people in the WH and at State… corporate execs and big firm lawyers who represent corporations throughout.” He warned that such actions could be “setting the table for the next authoritarian.”
