Federal ethics chief who clashed with White House announces he will step down

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post




By Rosalind S. Helderman and Matea Gold July 6 at 1:00 PM

The director of the independent Office of Government Ethics, who has been the federal government’s most persistent critic of the Trump administration’s approach to ethics, announced Thursday that he is resigning nearly six months before his term is scheduled to end.

Walter M. Shaub Jr. repeatedly challenged the Trump administration, publicly urging President Trump to fully divest from his business empire and chastising a senior Trump adviser for violating ethics rules. His outspokenness drew the ire of administration officials and earned him near-cult status among Trump’s opponents. Fans started a Facebook page in his honor, and his name has occasionally appeared on posters at anti-Trump protests.

Shaub made no reference to those clashes in a resignation letter he submitted Thursday indicating he will step down July 19. Instead, he praised the work of federal ethics officials, pointedly noting their commitment to “protecting the principle that public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain.”

In an interview, Shaub said he was not leaving under pressure, adding that no one in the White House or the administration pushed him to leave. But the ethics chief said he felt that he had reached the limit of what he could achieve in this administration, within the current ethics framework.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-ethics-chief-who-clashed-with-white-house-announces-he-will-step-down/2017/07/06/4732c308-624c-11e7-a4f7-af34fc1d9d39_story.html

[sandensea]

1. He should have stayed.

As a man of integrity, he would have been a real thorn on their sides.

What's worse, Cheeto is now sure to replace him with some Tom Price-style grifter - or worse:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. But at what cost? He clearly wasn't getting anywhere with these crooks,

and you can bang your head against a wall for only so long.

[onetexan]

6. exactly

The article does say "But the ethics chief said he felt that he had reached the limit of what he could achieve in this administration, within the current ethics framework."

He resigned out of his own sense of integrity and moral conscience.

[woundedkarma]

3. I doubt hes leaving out of choice

He was probably forced out in some way. Even if he says he isnt.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Authors! Authors!

Rosalind Helderman is a political enterprise and investigations reporter for the Washington Post. Follow @PostRoz

Matea Gold is a national political reporter for The Washington Post, covering money and influence. Follow @mateagold

[saidsimplesimon]

5. Thank you Don

"ethics chief said he felt that he had reached the limit of what he could achieve in this administration, within the current ethics framework."

Ethics and morals are strangers in this sick administration.

[Gothmog]

7. How dare anyone expect trump to ethical

Ethics are for normal people and trump is not required to be ethical

[elleng]

8. Damn!

[bucolic_frolic]

9. The PolitBureau would can him at some point anyway

A lot of visibility in planned departure

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Walter Shaub on Twitter

Link to tweet

He's landed on his feet:

Link to tweet

We're thrilled to welcome @waltshaub to CLC staff later this month as we fight for better ethics in government. http://bit.ly/2stSdhb

Link to tweet

[Scarsdale]

11. Ethics is a

foreign word to anyone in this mis-administration. Ethics are for democratic administrations, we ALL know that.

[Ligyron]

12. Encouraging.

Thanks for finding this.

[tclambert]

13. "Ethics? We don't need no steenkin' ethics!"

What Trump said when Bogart asked to see his ethics in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

[matt819]

14. Sorry, Mr. Shaub, but you're too much of a bureaucrat

Ok, you're resigning. Great. And your reasons are sensible. But why stop where you did.

We know why you're resigning, and you know why you're resigning. This is the most unethical group of people ever. Say so.

[maxrandb]

15. Can we get him to join Muellers team?