Late on Friday, Trump removed the independent watchdog investigating Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s alleged favoritism benefiting her husband Mitch McConnell’s political prospects and installed a political appointee to serve in his place.
In yet another assault on checks and balances, President Trump abruptly removed the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) independent watchdog late Friday – the same night he announced plans to fire the State Department Inspector General (IG). At DOT, the acting IG was overseeing a high profile investigation of Secretary Chao’s alleged favoritism benefiting her husband Senator Mitch McConnell’s political prospects, but has now been replaced with a political appointee from within the agency. The acting IG’s ouster calls into question the future of the Chao-McConnell investigation, other critical oversight, and whether the watchdog was dismissed for unearthing damaging information.
This move is the latest salvo of Trump’s assault on oversight. And it looks like the President made sure to cover all his bases to block accountability, not only nominating an IG to succeed the experienced watchdog who held the post, but also demoting the acting IG who was investigating Chao, and installing a political appointee to serve in his place while the Senate considers a permanent replacement. To make matters worse, Trump’s pick to be the new acting IG, Howard “Skip” Elliott, already has a job overseeing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an office he will now also be in charge of policing.
Trump’s decision to sideline DOT acting IG Mitch Behm (who has 17 years of experience with OIG) was lost in the shuffle of outrage following the announcement that Trump planned to fire the State Department IG, but potential conflicts of interest abound. The most high profile is the DOT OIG’s review of allegations that Secretary Chao gave Senator McConnell’s constituents special treatment and helped steer millions of federal dollars to Kentucky as he is facing low approval ratings and a tough reelection bid.
As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell was integral to the Senate’s consideration of Howard Elliott’s nomination to lead PHMSA. Now McConnell will also be instrumental to Eric Soskin’s potential confirmation as permanent IG. Soskin is a Justice Department trial lawyer “involved in some hot-button immigration and civil rights cases.” These moves will leave oversight of the Chao-McConnell investigation in the hands of Trump administration officials who McConnell has effectively endorsed. In the case of Ellinott, as Secretary, Chao maintains authority to fire him from PHMSA. As CREW has pointed out before, this situation poses a huge conflict of interest. How can the American people expect transparency and accountability when the watchdogs must pass a loyalty test from the President and be approved by officials impacted by their investigations?
In addition to the role new acting IG Elliott will play overseeing the Chao-McConnell investigation, a DOT spokesperson explained that Elliott “will continue to serve as leader of the pipeline agency under a dual-hat arrangement.” As a result, Elliott will potentially oversee audits or investigations into PHMSA, and be responsible for ensuring that the administrator of PHMSA (him) complies with recommendations made by OIG (led by him). It’s hard to understate the significance of this conflict of interest. Even if Elliott recuses from OIG matters related to PHMSA, which he absolutely should do, he can still discipline or fire OIG officials working for him, if he doesn’t like or agree with their handling of the Chao-McConnell investigation or PHMSA.The new acting DOT IG will also play a critical role in overseeing the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has drawn significant scrutiny from the President.
Inspectors General are meant to be apolitical and independent, so they do not typically come from among an administration’s pool of political appointees. But Elliott’s appointment is not the first time the Trump administration has sought to install a political appointee as an acting IG amid high profile investigations. In 2018, the administration abruptly moved a political appointee from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to serve as the acting IG for the Interior Department, overseeing multiple investigations into then-Secretary Ryan Zinke’s conduct. The Washington Post called the move “an unusual choice for a role that is traditionally nonpartisan.” Thankfully, public pressure led the administration to reverse course on a number of controversial acting IG appointments.
The President’s attack on inspector general independence at DOT deserves just as much public scrutiny as all the rest. It is no coincidence that an experienced and independent watchdog was sidelined while carrying out an investigation into alleged political corruption involving the Transportation Secretary and Trump’s chief enabler in the Senate, Leader McConnell. The administration’s Friday night announcements appear to be designed to keep us from taking notice. It is incumbent upon Congress, the public, and the good government community not to let President Trump get away with it yet again.
LINK
Wonderful essay with a message.
Recommended reading.
https://anitafinlay.com/my-mom-wouldnt-want-you-to-get-sick/
Recommended reading.
https://anitafinlay.com/my-mom-wouldnt-want-you-to-get-sick/
My dear Mom just died of Coronavirus. She was one month shy of 94. Don’t let her age fool you. She’d pulled off a number of health care miracles in the past, bouncing back from devastating illnesses despite all odds. Until Covid-19. Toni, as she liked to be called, was so generous, she’d give you the shirt off her back and the shoes besides. Imperfect as we all are, she had her toxic moments. Yet Toni was effervescent, warm and protective of others, watching everyone around her like a hawk. And if she were still here, she wouldn’t want you to get sick.
So, here is some sage advice I’m sure my intuitive-to-the-point-of-uncanny mom would give us all if she still could:
Don’t trust anyone who dares you to do
something reckless when they do the opposite.
something reckless when they do the opposite.
When I see Trump pushing “reopen” rallies—even though those most in danger of contracting Covid-19 are those who stand in close proximity to each other—I have to speak out. This disease is passed most often by person-to-person contact—like standing in crowds, being in nursing homes, at restaurants, grocery stores, meat packing plants, athletic events.
When I see people raging at the inconvenience of wearing a mask, even though doing so would help ensure they don’t give a front line worker a horrible disease, I have to speak out.
When Trump’s son Eric claims on national television that this pandemic is merely a hoax designed to make his father look bad, I have to speak out. 93,500 dead in the U.S. in a couple of months is not a hoax.
A Florida man in his mid-40s believed Covid-19 was a “fake virus,” until he and his wife contracted it. They are both in isolation at a local hospital and he now says, “I have come to accept that my wife may pass away.”
When men like Chris Christie say we’ve got to re-open the country and be willing to sacrifice countless (nameless) persons to the bargain—please note that he’s not willing to throw himself or his family onto the pyre.
Coronavirus affects people of all ages. Surely the elderly are in greater danger, yet doctors with whom I’ve spoken made it clear this “sneaky” disease has also taken the lives of 40 year olds—even those with no underlying health conditions.
The people I trust to tell me about the horrors of Covid-19 are medical professionals on the front lines. Not politicians trying to shore up their poll numbers by sweeping their inadequate response to a pandemic under the rug.
One of the most horrible aspects of Covid-19, and a sorrow my family and I now share with over 319,000 families around the world, was being robbed of the ability to hold my mother during the last two months of her life.
I was one of the lucky ones who actually got to see my mom for 15 minutes alone to say goodbye. Outfitted in head-to-toe PPE garb, including mask and clear plastic face visor, I stroked her hair with my gloved hand. I don’t wish that kind of “goodbye” on anyone.
Despite my concerns, one of her doctors put her on Plaquenil (aka Hydroxychloroquine) saying it “was shown to help in milder cases.” She died three weeks later.
I understand the devastation to millions during this economic shutdown. I want society to reopen, and quickly. I want us to be able to be social with each other and work and play together and have a thriving economy. And if it’s going to take everybody washing their hands with soap and water constantly and wearing a mask, for now, until we get a vaccine, then do it. Don’t complain.
So you’re inconvenienced. You’re alive.
Keep it that way. Don’t allow hypocrites (on any “news” network), who now work from the safety of their own homes, tell you to go out and do the opposite.
Their agendas have nothing to do with your well-being.
By the way, our country would likely be able to re-open faster if everyone respected social distancing parameters, sheltering in place if instructed. And, no, don’t say it’s “slavery” or “taking your freedom”. Stop it. You insult every person who has actually experienced those horrors.
Those who know me know how much I treasure my privacy. The bits of my life that are mine, I guard carefully. Yet this affects too many for me not to talk about my mother’s death.
We can do this, together. We can open the economy back up sooner than later if we’re willing to uniformly take precautions that not only protect us, but protect all of the angels on the front lines risking their lives for us.
Make no mistake, the danger of Coronavirus is real.
Please share this with as many people as you can and thanks for reading, because I know in my heart, mom wouldn’t want you to get sick.
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