Walter Shaub, the leader of the federal government’s ethics office who previously criticized President Trump over the president’s business interests, submitted his resignation on Thursday.
He will leave office nearly six months before the end of his term.
Shaub will officially step down from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on July 19, according to a letter to Trump that Shaub posted on his Twitter account.
The letter was a veiled shot at the Trump administration, which has routinely clashed with the small independent agency over the appearances of conflicts of interest.
“The great privilege and honor of my career has been to lead OGE’s staff and the community of ethics officials in the federal executive branch,” Shaub wrote. “They are committed to protecting the principle that public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principals above private gain.
“I am grateful for the efforts of this dedicated and patriotic assembly of public servants, and I am proud to have served with them,” the letter closes.
Schaub has served in OGE under both Republican and Democratic presidents, starting his tenure during the George W. Bush administration. He became director under former President Barack Obama.
His term was set to end in January 2018. He has worked for more than a decade in the ethics office — as the attorney in charge of the presidential nomination program, then as deputy general counsel. Obama named him as the agency’s director in 2013.
Except for a short stint in private practice, he has worked as a lawyer in various government agencies since 1997.
Shaub told The Washington Post that no one in the Trump administration pressured him to leave his position early.
But, “it’s clear that there isn’t more I could accomplish,” he told the publication.
OGE Chief of Staff Shelley Finlayson is the first in line to succeed Shaub as acting director, but rules allow the White House to pick from senior officials at the office to fill the top slot.
The OGE director position is decided by the president, and all eyes will be on whether Trump chooses someone to lead OGE or simply keeps the slot vacant.
Even before Trump was sworn in as president, Shaub had been outspoken about and openly frustrated by the former businessman’s efforts to meet federal ethics standards.
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Government ethics chief who publicly criticized Trump resigns https://t.co/0QIYkU0aeD pic.twitter.com/nn88hWfrCx
— The Hill (@thehill) July 6, 2017
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) July 6, 2017
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