Ranking Member Connolly Urges President Trump to Maintain the Independence of the Nation’s Ethics Agency and Give America’s Veterans the Undivided Attention They Deserve

Washington, D.C. (February 21, 2025)—Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to President Trump opposing Secretary Doug Collins’ dual appointment as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).  In his letter, Ranking Member Connolly urged President Trump to reinstate Senate-confirmed OGE Director David Huitema or follow OGE’s succession protocol to maintain the agency’s independence.

“I write to express my deep alarm regarding your appointment of recently confirmed Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to serve simultaneously as Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics.  This dual appointment presents a fundamental conflict of interest that undermines the very purpose of OGE’s institutional independence,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly.  “I strongly oppose this dual appointment and urge that you reinstate Senate-Confirmed OGE Director David Huitema or revert to the established line of succession to ensure that OGE maintains its vital independent status.”

Congress established OGE in 1978 under the Ethics in Government Act as an independent agency charged with providing oversight of executive branch ethics.  In November 2024, the Senate confirmed David Huitema to serve as OGE Director.  President Trump’s decision to terminate him on February 10, 2025, four years before his term’s scheduled expiration, without a public explanation raises serious concerns about his Administration’s intentions to comply with federal ethics requirements.

Secretary Collins’ dual appointment compromises OGE’s independence and creates multiple opportunities for actual or a perceived appearance of conflicts of interest.  Under this arrangement, Secretary Collins is responsible for directing and overseeing OGE’s ethics compliance reviews of an agency that he simultaneously leads, including a program that reviews his own financial disclosure submissions for potential conflicts of interest.  If Secretary Collins serves in this dual role, it presents an impossible division of priorities that undermines both positions.

“This dual role also presents practical time and resource allocation disruptions for an individual who is managing competing demands and statutory obligations of two vital federal leadership positions.  The position of VA Secretary, tasked with overseeing, protecting, and improving the lives of America’s veterans, is an obligation that demands a leader’s full attention.  Our nation’s nearly 16 million veterans deserve a VA Secretary who will not split their time nor take their attention away from tackling the daily challenges veterans face in accessing critical health care benefits, education opportunities, and financial assistance,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly.

Click here to read the letter to President Trump.