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Explainer: Trump Removes OGE Director

Trump Dismisses Director of Office of Government Ethics.
By Nick Opoku

On February 10, 2025, President Trump removed the director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), David Huitema. Huitema, appointed to a five-year term by President Biden, took office in December 2024 after his confirmation by the Senate.

What Is the OGE’s Role?

The OGE was established by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide “overall direction of executive branch policies related to preventing conflicts of interest on the part of officers and employees of any executive [branch] agency”. It is an independent agency in the executive branch that provides guidance, training, and administrative support to agency and department ethics offices on the wide range of ethics, financial disclosure, and conflict of interest provisions of federal law and executive orders. To complete its statutory mission, the OGE periodically issues rules and regulations to guide agency ethics officers. The OGE has no enforcement authority and relies entirely on the White House, the Department of Justice, and federal agencies to enforce ethics guidelines and regulations.

How Does the OGE Support the President and Senate?

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 15: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. If confirmed as director, Vought is poised to play a pivotal role in implementing a plan to reduce both the size of the federal government and federal spending. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

In addition, the OGE assists the President-elect, the President, and the Senate during the nomination and confirmation process for advice and consent positions. OGE works with the President-elect’s transition team or the White House to review nominee financial disclosure statements, identify possible conflicts of interest, and propose remedies to resolve those conflicts, when appropriate.

Who Replaced the OGE Director?

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 21: Doug Collins, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, testifies during his Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Collins, a former U.S. Representative and veteran of the Iraq War, has strong bipartisan support and is not expected to face a difficult confirmation. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

President Trump tapped Doug Collins, a Republican former member of Congress and current Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, to be the acting director of OGE.

What Is the OGE’s Role in Investigations?

The OGE has not made any recent public disclosure of wrongdoing, abuse of office, or illegality, howsoever described, on the part of federal government officials. This is hardly surprising because government investigation(s) is the primary responsibility of the Inspectors General.

How Was Ethics Policy Separated from Investigations?

In 1978, as the country was recovering from the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Nixon, Congress considered several reforms to protect the American people from government corruption and misconduct. Two functions that Congress determined to be essential in these reforms were (i) the development and oversight of ethics policy, and (ii) the investigation and remediation of violations of ethics policy. The question was whether these two functions should vest with a single office or be separated.

Why Did Congress Choose to Separate Ethics Oversight from Investigations?

Ultimately, Congress decided to separate these functions. In 1978, Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act, establishing OGE. It also passed the Inspector General Act, establishing a network of offices across several departments and agencies of the executive branch, each led by an Inspector General, and charged with investigating allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct.

How Does the Separation of Functions Help?

Among other things, separating the policy function from the investigative function allows agencies and federal employees to seek policy guidance without fear that their inquiries will be used against them by investigators. This also allows investigators to prioritize investigations based on the needs of the agencies they are overseeing, free from the influence of the policy office.

Do OGE and Inspectors General Work Together?

It should be noted, however, that Inspector General offices routinely seek technical assistance from OGE related to matters they are investigating that may implicate the ethics rules. Moreover, OGE occasionally refers ethics-related matters that come to its attention to Inspectors General for possible investigations. In these ways, OGE and Offices of Inspectors General perform complementary functions to help ensure the executive branch is properly serving the public.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 10: U.S. President Donald Trump reacts to a question from a reporter after signing a series of executive orders including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, a pardon for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an order relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and an order for the federal government to stop using paper straws and begin using plastic straws in the Oval Office at the White House on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signed more than 50 executive orders as of Friday, the most in a president’s first 100 days in more than 40 years. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Why Did the Trump Administration End the Task Force on Russian Oligarchs’ Assets?

On February 6, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) disbanded efforts to enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs close to the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

What Was the Purpose of Task Force KleptoCapture?

A memo from the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said the effort, known as “Task Force KleptoCapture”, will end as part of a shift in focus and funding to combating drug cartels and international gangs.

What Was the Impact of Task Force KleptoCapture?

The task force was initiated under President Biden to strain the finances of wealthy associates of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and punish those facilitating sanctions and export control violations. It was part of a broader push to freeze Russia out of global markets and enforce wide-ranging sanctions imposed on Moscow amid international condemnation of its war in Ukraine.

What Are the Results of Task Force KleptoCapture?

The task force brought indictments against aluminum magnate, Oleg Deripaska and TV tycoon, Konstantin Malofeyev, for alleged sanctions busting, and seized yachts belonging to sanctioned oligarchs Suleiman Kerimov and Viktor Vekselberg.

What Is the Future of Russian Sanctions Prosecutions?

Andrew Adams, the first leader of the task force predicts a “sharp decline in the pace of charges that target facilitators that are specific to Russia.”

Why Did the Trump Administration Pause Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

On February 10, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal law that makes it a crime for U.S. businesses to bribe foreign officials. The President said the law puts companies at a disadvantage on the global stage.

What Does the Executive Order on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Mean?

The President ordered the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to immediately stop actions taken under the law, including prosecutions of American individuals and companies who the DOJ has charged with bribing foreign government officials in attempts to gain business in other countries.

What Is the Reason Behind Pausing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

The President said the new order is aimed at restoring American economic competitiveness.

Summary

  • What’s happening: On February 10, 2025, President Trump removed the director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and replaced him with his own personal attorney. 
  • Why it matters: Huitema’s removal, which comes barely three weeks after the mass dismissal of Inspectors General, is another example of Trump’s administration’s drive to eliminate even the most basic protections against fraud, waste, and abuse in government.  
  • Our position: We need nonpartisan ethics watchdogs to ensure public business is done in the public interest – and getting rid of safeguards against corruption is an open invitation from those who seek to profit at our expense.

Timeline of Key Events

  • 1978: The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) was established by the Ethics in Government Act to provide “overall direction of executive branch policies related to preventing conflicts of interest.”
  • 2022: Russia invades Ukraine, prompting international sanctions.
  • 2022-2024: The U.S. government enforces sanctions on Russian oligarchs through Task Force KleptoCapture.
  • December 2024: David Huitema is appointed as OGE director by President Biden.
  • February 6, 2025: The Department of Justice (DOJ) disbanded the task force enforcing sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
  • February 10, 2025: President Trump removed the director of the OGE, David Huitema, and replaced him with his personal attorney.
  • February 10, 2025: President Trump signed an executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).