Elizabeth Warren, Tom Carper’s bill to improve ethics requirements for presidential candidates signed into law

The bipartisan Presidential Transition Enhancement Act, which includes major provisions of the Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act, has been signed into law.

The Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act was introduced by former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) and the late Representative Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to make the government uphold the public interest during transitions from one presidential administration to the next, not stay focused only on the matters elevated by special interest lobbyists. The act will improve the ethics requirements that regulate presidential transitions.

The People Act of 2019 (H.R.1) also included the bicameral bill. H.R.1 was House Democrats’ first law introduced in the 116th Congress that has proposals pertaining to campaign finance, voting and election laws, redistricting and Executive Branch ethics requirements.

Senator Elizabeth Warren applauded the signing of the bill into law, saying, “The Trump transition team was absolutely awash in conflicts and corruption, and today, the American people can celebrate new rules to ensure that never happens again. This new law will stop the wealthy and well-connected from reaping the benefits of presidential transitions and pulling the strings of power in Washington to their own benefit. I’m proud to have partnered with Senator Carper and am deeply grateful to my friend, the late Chairman Elijah Cummings, who worked hard to champion these basic ethics rules. I know he would be proud today.”

Senator Carper stated, “It’s just common sense that the individuals running for the highest office in our land should be required to address any ethical issues before they take the oath of office. That’s not a partisan issue; it’s a good government policy that is necessary for a healthy democracy.”

He added, “Regardless of their political party, presidential candidates and their transition teams should disclose how they will address their own conflicts of interest before the election and develop an ethics plan that the American people are able to see and evaluate. Today, I’m proud that my bill to provide more accountability and transparency in presidential transitions by helping new administrations address potential conflicts of interest, improving the vetting process for nominees and preserving the integrity of our executive branch has been signed into law. My friend Chairman Cummings worked hard on this important bill, and I know that he would be proud that it now stands as the law of the land.”

Presidential transition teams get financial support and access to non-public documents, executive agencies and other resources from the federal government. Despite the level of access and the public support they have, the team members do not have to comply with federal ethics laws, including those related to conflicts of interest, as they are not federal government employees.

Although recent presidents-elect have adopted ethics plans, the law did not ask them to.

The Presidential Transition Enhancement Act would have eligible presidential candidates create and public transition team ethics plans and reveal how they will deal with their own conflicts of interest before the election, requiring them to make the disclosures by no later than October 1 and thus allowing the general public to evaluate ethics plans of the candidates before a general election.

The act would also have transition team members sign an ethics code of conduct and put in place an array of requirements for transition team ethics plans, including details on how the team will implement a code of ethical conduct and deal with the role of foreign and domestic lobbyists on the team.