The director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, resigned Thursday.
“The great privilege and honor of my career has been to lead OGE’s staff and the community of ethics officials in the federal executive branch,” Shaub said in a letter to President Donald Trump. “They are committed 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. ”
Shaub has accepted a job with the Campaign Legal Center, and told NPR: “The current situation has made it clear that the ethics program needs to be stronger than it is. At the Campaign Legal Center, I’ll have more freedom to push for reform. I’ll also be broadening my focus to include ethics issues at all levels of government.”
NPR said that Shaub didn’t elaborate on what he meant when referring to “the current situation.” The former ethics director had previously criticized President Trump for not selling his business assets and pilloried the White House for keeping ethics waivers private, which were eventually publicly released.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told The Daily Caller, “The White House accepts Mr. Shaub’s resignation and appreciates his service. The President will be nominating a successor in short order.”