Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The Guardian: Ro Khanna introduces 'Drain the Swamp Act' to enforce anti-corruption measures in White House
The Guardian - Ro Khanna introduces ‘Drain the Swamp Act’ to enforce anti-corruption measures in White House
Exclusive: legislation, named after 2016 Trump slogan, would ban lobbyist gifts and ‘revolving door’ restrictions
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
Thu 10 Apr 2025 07.00 EDT
The California representative Ro Khanna is introducing legislation that would force White House officials to abide by strict anti-corruption measures after Donald Trump dismantled ethics rules established by his predecessor that turns the president’s own catchphrase against him.
The “Drain the Swamp Act” – shared exclusively with the Guardian and deliberately invoking Trump’s own 2016 campaign slogan – would convert into permanent law the ethics requirements previously established by executive order, including bans on lobbyist gifts and “revolving door” restrictions.
“He campaigned on draining the swamp, and yet he gets in there and he says, no, lobbyists can give gifts to White House officials,” Khanna said. “What I’m saying is that we need to ban lobbyists from giving gifts to White House officials, not just this administration, but for all administrations going forward.”
The congressman’s bill comes in direct response to Trump’s decision to rescind a Biden-era executive order on ethics rules upon returning to office in January. The legislation would prohibit appointees from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists, impose two-year cooling-off periods for officials entering and leaving government, and ban special “golden parachute” payments from former employers.
Trump’s commercial enterprises during his campaign – hawking everything from gold-plated sneakers to diamond watches and branded Bibles – showed a pattern of monetizing political influence that Khanna’s bill aims to address at the governmental level. The White House’s recent relaxation of ethics standards stands in contrast to his first administration, when he initially imposed a five-year lobbying ban on departing officials – only to nullify those same restrictions during his final days in office in 2020.
/snip
Exclusive: legislation, named after 2016 Trump slogan, would ban lobbyist gifts and ‘revolving door’ restrictions
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
Thu 10 Apr 2025 07.00 EDT
The California representative Ro Khanna is introducing legislation that would force White House officials to abide by strict anti-corruption measures after Donald Trump dismantled ethics rules established by his predecessor that turns the president’s own catchphrase against him.
The “Drain the Swamp Act” – shared exclusively with the Guardian and deliberately invoking Trump’s own 2016 campaign slogan – would convert into permanent law the ethics requirements previously established by executive order, including bans on lobbyist gifts and “revolving door” restrictions.
“He campaigned on draining the swamp, and yet he gets in there and he says, no, lobbyists can give gifts to White House officials,” Khanna said. “What I’m saying is that we need to ban lobbyists from giving gifts to White House officials, not just this administration, but for all administrations going forward.”
The congressman’s bill comes in direct response to Trump’s decision to rescind a Biden-era executive order on ethics rules upon returning to office in January. The legislation would prohibit appointees from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists, impose two-year cooling-off periods for officials entering and leaving government, and ban special “golden parachute” payments from former employers.
Trump’s commercial enterprises during his campaign – hawking everything from gold-plated sneakers to diamond watches and branded Bibles – showed a pattern of monetizing political influence that Khanna’s bill aims to address at the governmental level. The White House’s recent relaxation of ethics standards stands in contrast to his first administration, when he initially imposed a five-year lobbying ban on departing officials – only to nullify those same restrictions during his final days in office in 2020.
/snip
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
good luck with that 
