President Donald Trump waves as he walks on the South Lawn toward the White House on Sunday, March 19, 2017. (Photo: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
May 31, 2018
A group of House Demcrats are demanding an urgent hearing over the Trump White House's "dramatic decision" to repeatedly stonewall a top federal watchdog agency.
"We are writing to request that you hold an immediate hearing on the dramatic decision by the White House to obstruct investigations by our independent investigators at the Government Accountability Office (GAO)," the lawmakers wrote this week in a letter (pdf) to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The committee has direct jurisdiction over the GAO, which conducts audits that inform the work of federal lawmakers. Earlier this month, the GAO's general counsel sent a letter (pdf) to the White House expressing alarm that attorneys working for the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) won't respond to the watchdog's inquiries.
"Over the past year, GAO has requested information and meetings when preparing reports on topics clearly involving the White House interests and expertise," the GAO's letter states. Those reports were about "the role of the NSC in the coordination of conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts abroad; Inspector General vacancies; and the cost of presidential travel and related security measures."
The GAO had requested a response from the White House general counsel by May 25, but as with its earlier report inquiries, the Trump administration refused to even respond.
Now, the Demcrats are calling on Gowdy to bring lawyers for the White House and the GAO, as well as the Comptroller General, to testify before the committee, pointing to concerns that the administration's apparent non-compliance policy could hinder congressional oversight.
"The committee must act swiftly to determine who instructed the White House staff to refuse to proivde information to GAO," the Democrats' letter states, "as well as to evaluate the justification for this decision and its potential to impair Congress from fulfilling its constitutional oversight responsibilities."
The lawmakers' letter was signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-M.D.), the committee's ranking Democrat, and 17 other members of Congress.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A group of House Demcrats are demanding an urgent hearing over the Trump White House's "dramatic decision" to repeatedly stonewall a top federal watchdog agency.
"We are writing to request that you hold an immediate hearing on the dramatic decision by the White House to obstruct investigations by our independent investigators at the Government Accountability Office (GAO)," the lawmakers wrote this week in a letter (pdf) to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The committee has direct jurisdiction over the GAO, which conducts audits that inform the work of federal lawmakers. Earlier this month, the GAO's general counsel sent a letter (pdf) to the White House expressing alarm that attorneys working for the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) won't respond to the watchdog's inquiries.
"Over the past year, GAO has requested information and meetings when preparing reports on topics clearly involving the White House interests and expertise," the GAO's letter states. Those reports were about "the role of the NSC in the coordination of conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts abroad; Inspector General vacancies; and the cost of presidential travel and related security measures."
The GAO had requested a response from the White House general counsel by May 25, but as with its earlier report inquiries, the Trump administration refused to even respond.
Now, the Demcrats are calling on Gowdy to bring lawyers for the White House and the GAO, as well as the Comptroller General, to testify before the committee, pointing to concerns that the administration's apparent non-compliance policy could hinder congressional oversight.
"The committee must act swiftly to determine who instructed the White House staff to refuse to proivde information to GAO," the Democrats' letter states, "as well as to evaluate the justification for this decision and its potential to impair Congress from fulfilling its constitutional oversight responsibilities."
The lawmakers' letter was signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-M.D.), the committee's ranking Democrat, and 17 other members of Congress.
A group of House Demcrats are demanding an urgent hearing over the Trump White House's "dramatic decision" to repeatedly stonewall a top federal watchdog agency.
"We are writing to request that you hold an immediate hearing on the dramatic decision by the White House to obstruct investigations by our independent investigators at the Government Accountability Office (GAO)," the lawmakers wrote this week in a letter (pdf) to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The committee has direct jurisdiction over the GAO, which conducts audits that inform the work of federal lawmakers. Earlier this month, the GAO's general counsel sent a letter (pdf) to the White House expressing alarm that attorneys working for the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) won't respond to the watchdog's inquiries.
"Over the past year, GAO has requested information and meetings when preparing reports on topics clearly involving the White House interests and expertise," the GAO's letter states. Those reports were about "the role of the NSC in the coordination of conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts abroad; Inspector General vacancies; and the cost of presidential travel and related security measures."
The GAO had requested a response from the White House general counsel by May 25, but as with its earlier report inquiries, the Trump administration refused to even respond.
Now, the Demcrats are calling on Gowdy to bring lawyers for the White House and the GAO, as well as the Comptroller General, to testify before the committee, pointing to concerns that the administration's apparent non-compliance policy could hinder congressional oversight.
"The committee must act swiftly to determine who instructed the White House staff to refuse to proivde information to GAO," the Democrats' letter states, "as well as to evaluate the justification for this decision and its potential to impair Congress from fulfilling its constitutional oversight responsibilities."
The lawmakers' letter was signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-M.D.), the committee's ranking Democrat, and 17 other members of Congress.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.