Publisher's Synopsis
On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13989 on ethics. E.O. 13989 created an ethics pledge for executive branch appointees and provided for the administration and enforcement of the pledge. President Biden's executive order shares some features with previous executive order ethics pledges issued by Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton.Executive order ethics pledges are one of several tools, along with laws and administrative guidance, available to influence the interactions and relationships between the public and the executive branch. The ability of private citizens to contact government officials is protected by the Constitution. As such, the restrictions placed by executive order ethics pledges, laws, and administrative guidance are designed to provide transparency and address enforcement of existing "revolving door" (when federal employees leave government for employment in the private sector, or vice versa) and lobbying laws.This report begins with an overview of the relationship between the public and the executive branch, including the use of laws, executive orders, and other guidance and Administration policy to regulate interactions. A brief summary of recent executive orders is then provided, including a side-by-side analysis of ethics pledges from the Clinton, Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations (see Appendix). This analysis is followed by observations about the similarities and differences among the four pledges.
