Democrats on Capitol Hill say it’s time for Jamieson Greer to select the job he loves most.
Greer is President Donald Trump’s U.S. trade consultant, chargeable for steering the nation by what’s shaping as much as be a tariff-fueled international commerce struggle. However Greer can be serving because the performing head of two different companies, the Workplace of Particular Counsel and the Workplace of Authorities Ethics.
These are necessary jobs, a minimum of beneath a traditional administration. The OSC is tasked with defending authorities whistleblowers, and the OGE is chargeable for imposing ethics guidelines within the government department. It will be loads for Greer to juggle on prime of his commerce gig, particularly as Trump’s tariffs melt down monetary markets, immediate retaliation from different nations and lift the probability of a recession.
4 Home Democrats, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), sent a letter to Greer on Wednesday telling him it was time to drop his aspect hustles and deal with being the nation’s prime commerce official — a “singular” position at a time when “the stakes couldn’t be greater.” They mentioned carrying three completely different hats throughout the administration not solely creates conflicts of curiosity however makes it not possible to do anyone job nicely.
“Taking up a minimum of two different jobs is misguided and a disservice to the general public.”
– Democrats of their letter to Jamieson Greer
“Since President Trump has launched a worldwide commerce struggle, it’s important that you simply stay targeted on fulfilling the duties for which you had been confirmed by the USA Senate,” Pressley wrote, joined by Reps. Don Beyer (Va.), Linda Sánchez (Calif.) and Gerry Connolly (Va.). “Taking up a minimum of two different jobs is misguided and a disservice to the general public who count on a reliable and efficient USTR, OSC, and OGE.”
The Senate confirmed Greer, a commerce lawyer who served within the first Trump administration, because the U.S. commerce consultant on Feb. 26. In the meantime, the Workplace of Authorities Ethics at the moment lists Greer as performing director on its web site.
A spokesperson for the Workplace of Particular Counsel confirmed Greer is main the company, however didn’t tackle how a lot time he’s been placing in on the workplace. They referred inquiries to the Workplace of the U.S. Commerce Consultant.
Greer positively wasn’t working on the particular counsel’s workplace or the federal government ethics workplace on Tuesday morning ― he was busy testifying on the commerce struggle earlier than a Senate panel.
AP Photograph/Mark Schiefelbein
It’s unlikely this administration needs a functioning particular counsel workplace, because it’s one in every of a handful that protects the labor rights of federal staff — partly by looking for the reinstatement of those that had been fired or disciplined illegally. Trump created the opening at OSC when he eliminated the earlier particular counsel, Hampton Dellinger, in early February.
Dellinger sued on the grounds his firing was unlawful, and received a choose’s order permitting him to maintain his place. However he later dropped his case after an appeals court docket allowed his firing to proceed.
Pressley and her colleagues questioned how the OSC might fulfill its mission if its performing director was additionally operating commerce coverage at such a important time.
“With the present onslaught of assaults, layoffs, and firings of presidency staff, OSC’s work has enormously elevated in significance and amount,” they wrote.
An aggressive Workplace of Authorities Ethics wouldn’t be excessive on this administration’s precedence record, both. The OGE is chargeable for stopping conflicts of curiosity beneath a president who not too long ago advertised Tesla cars for his billionaire backer Elon Musk on the White Home grounds.
In early February, Trump fired the unbiased workplace’s director who’d been appointed by former President Joe Biden to a five-year time period.
“Since coming into the presidency, the Trump Administration has been the topic of dozens of ethics complaints that require critical consideration,” the Democrats famous of their letter.
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They put plenty of inquiries to Greer, together with what number of hours he’s working on the completely different places of work, whether or not he’s acquired every other jobs they don’t find out about, and if he’s recused himself from any whistleblower or ethics instances involving the Workplace of the U.S. Commerce Consultant. They urged him to resign his non-trade positions instantly.
“Something much less fails to fulfill the moral {and professional} requirements required to protect the independence and effectiveness of each places of work,” they wrote.
