Trump Removes Top Government Ethics Czar
President Donald Trump has removed David Huitema, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), in another move against a government watchdog. The agency confirmed the removal on Monday.
Huitema’s Appointment and Confirmation
Huitema was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in November, after more than a year of delays. His confirmation passed with a 50-46 vote during a post-election lame-duck session.
A statement on the OGE website reads:
“OGE has been notified that the President is removing David Huitema as the Director of OGE. OGE is reverting to an Acting Director.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Huitema’s Role and Responsibilities
As the nation’s top ethics czar, Huitema led efforts to review financial disclosures and ethics agreements for high-level nominees, ensuring that incoming officials’ financial holdings did not conflict with their government duties.
In recent weeks, the agency had released multiple financial disclosures and ethics agreements for Trump’s wealthy nominees—a move that may have put him at odds with the administration.
Ethics Office and Government Oversight
Directors of the Office of Government Ethics typically serve five-year terms, spanning across administrations to maintain nonpartisanship. Huitema, before leading OGE, was an ethics official at the State Department.
This removal follows Trump’s sweeping firings of inspectors general across more than a dozen government agencies last month—raising concerns about government oversight and accountability.
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What’s Next?
With Huitema gone, OGE will now operate under an Acting Director, though no official replacement has been announced. The move is likely to spark further debate over government ethics and watchdog independence.
