Good Government

Following yesterday’s press reports that Speaker Paul Ryan hasn’t “paid that close attention” to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Pruitt’s unethical conduct, Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) sent a letter to the Speaker detailing the many abuses and allegations against Mr. Pruitt. “We are deeply concerned by your comments yesterday when asked about your confidence level in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt that you “hav... Read more

Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released the following statement on today’s release of the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on FBI activities prior to the 2016 election: “There is no way around it. Former FBI Director James Comey’s misconduct and profoundly bad judgment helped elect Donald Trump President of the United States. Inspector General Horowitz found that Mr. Comey’s actions violated FBI p... Read more

Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to President Donald Trump in response to troubling reports that he is using his authority as president to launch political attacks against Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, and to pressure the Postal Service to raise its rates for Amazon. “We are writing in response to troubling reports ... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted an amendment offered by Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, that would ensure funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General. Connolly offered this amendment in response to recent reports that have found widespread problems at the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. “We witnessed unacceptable leadership failures and pervasive understaffin... Read more

Ellen Knickmeyer and Michael Biesecker Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt laughed off questions Wednesday about whether he used his office to try to help his wife get a “business opportunity” with Chick-fil-A, while a close aide abruptly resigned amid new ethics allegations against her boss. Pruitt said in a statement that his scheduling director, Millan Hupp, 26, had resigned. It came two days after Democratic lawmakers made public her testimony to a House oversight panel that ... Read more

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and Rep. Gerry Connolly, the Ranking Member and Vice-Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy requesting he issue a subpoena for documents being withheld by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relating to Administrator Scott Pruitt’s multiple abuses of authority in using agency staff for his own personal purposes. On May 18, Republican and Democratic Committee staff conducted a transcribed ... Read more

Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey, and and Brady Dennis June In mid-September, the Environmental Protection Agency’s director of scheduling and advance, Millan Hupp, reached out to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., with an unusual request. Hupp wanted to know how much the hotel would charge EPA chief Scott Pruitt for purchasing one of its used mattresses. Hupp’s search for a discount “Trump Home Luxury Plush Euro Pillow Top” mattress, which she detailed in a recent interview with co... Read more

Antonia Blumberg President Donald Trump on Friday signed a series of executive orders that could make it easier to fire federal government employees, potentially undermining the unions that represent them. The three executive orders Trump issued would reduce the timeframe for firing poor performers, curtail the amount of paid time federal employees can receive for union work and direct agencies to negotiate more restrictive union contracts in a timely fashion. By signing the orders, the preside... Read more

Today, the House adopted three amendments offered by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) to the FY 19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Connolly’s amendments addressed North Korea reporting requirements related to family reunification, Korean War POW remains recovery efforts; procurement reform; and increased funding for security cooperation monitoring programs. The NDAA passed the House on a vote of 351-61. North Korea Reporting Amendment: Connolly’s amendment requires a report on Korean... Read more

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows and Subcommittee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly released the following statement after the Committee passed bipartisan legislation, H.R. 5925, the Coordinated Response through Interagency Strategy and Information Sharing (CRISIS) Act, to reauthorize and revamp the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Chairman Gowdy and Subcommittee Chairman Meadows iss... Read more