Thread: Trump granted at least 16 White House staffers ethics waivers: report

Trump granted at least 16 White House staffers ethics waivers: report

By Max Greenwood - 05/31/17 10:33 PM EDT

President Trump has granted at least 16 members of his White House staff waivers to work in areas in which they previously lobbied or to interact with colleagues from their past jobs, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The number of waivers granted is more than five times the number issued in the first four months of former President Barack Obama's administration.

Among those given waivers were Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who most recently served as chairman of the Republican National Committee and continues to interact with the organization in his White House job, and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, a former pollster and GOP strategist.

A number of former lobbyists were granted waivers, as well. For example, Shahira Knight, a special assistant to the president for tax and retirement policy, previously lobbied for Fidelity Investments, according to the Times. And Andrew Olmem, a special assistant to the president for financial policy, previously lobbied for companies like American Express and MetLife.

As a presidential candidate, Trump vowed to disrupt the power of Washington lobbyists and political insiders.

The White House disclosed the waivers after a bitter fight with the Office of Government Ethics, which had ordered the Trump administration to release the records.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbyi...ethics-waivers

LOL!! Well, I bet the Office of Government Ethics is feeling pretty stupid now, huh? Big nothing burger.

Trump's deal is preventing people who work for him in this Administration at certain levels of authority from being lobbyists after they leave the White House. That's what he promised, and he got agreements to that from everyone he has hired. Trump never said he wasn't going to hire people who lobbied before they got to government, in fact, he said during the campaign "who knows more about this stuff than the lobbysits?" You may not agree with the position they're lobbying for the firm they're working for before you hire them, but they know a lot about the subject matter! A lobbyist is making the argument for whatever side that you're working for. These are not ideological people.

No one can gobble a non-news story better than The Hill. So messed up!!

As to Obama, we know he didn't hire anyone with any knowledge of anything. That's why our country is even more messed up than it was before Obama.

As a presidential candidate, Trump vowed to disrupt the power of Washington lobbyists and political insiders.

Yes he did. Some of those he has hired are extra gators for the swamp.

The Swamp hates Trump so whatever and however he's doing it, he and his people have the Swamp on the Run.

Trump's DRAINING, DRAINING, DRAINING the Swamp for US.

And I hope he bitchslaps this SWAMP behind the Paris Accord m with a total pull-out from the agreement, full and complete at the UN level, while still maintaining the US commitment as we've done since 1970 to protect our environment. But we're not handing over our economy, jobs, trade, industries, energy sources or any of our money to this international cabal called the Paris Accord.