New “Cabinet Oversight Tracker” Shows House Democrats Falling Down on Duty to Interrogate Trump’s Historically Corrupt Cabinet
Revolving Door Project introduces new oversight tool
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hauser, hauser@cepr.net, (202) 957 - 9719
Revolving Door Project is pleased to announce the release of the “Cabinet Oversight Tracker,” a new tool to monitor House Democrats’ efforts to hold Trump’s historically corrupt Cabinet accountable. Prior to this, gaining a full picture of House Democrats’ oversight activity required visiting many different websites, a tedious and time-consuming process. By bringing this information together in one place, Revolving Door Project seeks to facilitate comparison and to encourage members of civil society, the media, and the public to call out oversight laggards and raise up accountability champions.
Revolving Door Project recognizes that oversight of Trump’s Cabinet is just one small part of the investigative onslaught we so desperately need. However, we believe House Democrats’ treatment of this administration’s most senior members is indicative of its oversight stance more broadly. As the tracker reveals, House Democrats’ posture on Cabinet oversight should represent serious cause for concern.
Six of the 21 Cabinet Officials who are serving at present have never testified before the House committee with jurisdiction over the Department or Agency they run. Another three have not testified before the relevant committee of jurisdiction for over a year. This is particularly alarming given the entire federal government’s unraveling in the face of COVID-19.
As Revolving Door Project’s Eleanor Eagan wrote, “Oversight of these fantastically corrupt figures was desperately needed prior to the pandemic but has become even more essential in its wake. Every executive branch department is bound to have faced immense challenges as it responds to COVID-19, and rising to those challenges is, in many cases, nothing short of a matter of life and death.”
The Cabinet Oversight Tracker will be updated on a weekly basis.
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